My Boss Hates Me
by crazygal27
Summary: Based on when Emily first joins the team in season two. Emily Prentiss is happy to have landed her dream job and tries to work hard to earn her boss, Aaron Hotchner's approval and trust. But once the suspicion of her unexpected arrival subsides, why does it seem that he still hates her? How long can she take his unfair treatment of her before she starts to crack? Eventual H/P.
1. Chapter 1

The first two months weren't so bad. Emily Prentiss was happy to finally have a job as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit. Her boss was a hard ass, he wasn't letting up or giving her a break for a second. But she didn't care. She knew that eventually he would see how hard she was working and that she deserved her place on the team.

She had to admit, it did seem suspicious, the way she had just landed a place on his team, without his approval. She wasn't too sure how it had happened herself. In any other job, most people wouldn't have questioned her unexpected arrival. But here, surrounded by a team of some of the best profiler's in the world, she could understand their hesitation to warm to her.

So she didn't let anything that was thrown her way get to her. Every time her boss entered the room and greeted everyone except her, she let it go. When they were working a case and he'd tell Gideon or Morgan to 'take Prentiss with you,' like she was some sort of nuisance that needed babysitting, she let it go. If she made a comment with regards to a profile and he immediately shot her opinion down, she let it go. When another member of the team suggested the same thing later and he agreed, threw gritted teeth, she let it go.

She'd always been good at compartmentalizing and she knew that eventually things would get better. The team would accept her. He would accept her.

But it didn't. Two months into the job and things still weren't changing. Not with him anyway. The rest of the team all seemed to have accepted her. None of them went out of their way to get to know her a great deal, but they were friendly enough. Smiled at her, greeted her in the mornings, asked how she was doing, asked if she wanted coffee if they were making it anyway, said goodbye to her before they left for the day. All normal behaviour between colleagues.

With the obvious exception of Mr Dark and Gloomy, Emily was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. She put everything she had into her work and hoped that he would finally see that she deserved to be here.

But if anything, his distrust and dislike for her seemed to be increasing.

The first time Emily knew for sure that the Unit Chief had a strong hatred for her was when his wife and son came in to visit.

"You remember the team, I'm sure." Hotch spoke to his wife fondly. "Derek, Spencer, Jason, JJ and Penelope." His smiled dropped as Haley's gaze fell upon the brunette female. "Oh, and this is Prentiss. She's new."

New? Over two months working for him and he still considered her new. Emily considered calling him out on his comment, but deciding that maybe he just meant she was new to Haley, once again, she let it go.

Further into the Hotchner's visit, the team all fussed over Jack, who was stumbling around the bullpen, not even remotely shy from all the attention. The happy little toddler gladly accepted all the cuddles and kisses from everyone, finding himself drawn to the brunette lady who smiled at him but made no effort to interact with him. Who was this interesting person, he did not recognize and why was she not cuddling him like everybody else? How dare she?

Curiosity got the better of the toddler and once Penelope had placed him down on the floor, he quickly scurried over to the sitting woman, tripping over his own feet just before he reached her and stumbling to the ground.

Without hesitation, Emily scooped the little boy into her arms. "Hey buddy, you're okay." She soothed, gladdened by the fact that he didn't seem at all hurt or bothered by the fall. Instead he beamed at her with a grin she couldn't help but return.

"Give him here." The voice of her boss hissed out quietly, as he practically snatched the child out of her arms.

Concern overwhelmed her as she took in the angered stare he shot her way, once he had returned to his place bedside his wife, handing Jack to her. What the hell had just happened? Emily knew that Hotch didn't really like her and didn't trust her as a part of his team. But the way he had just snatched his son off of her and the way he was glaring at her now… it was as if he thought of her as some kind of pedophile. What did he think she was going to do his son? What the hell was his problem?

She glanced around and none of the rest of the team seemed to have noticed his outburst or the look he had shot her way afterwards. Instead they all had their attention captured by the sweet little boy, pulling silly faces at them from his place on his mother's hip.

Maybe she was reading into this too much. Maybe he hadn't been bothered that it was her holding his son. Maybe he was just concerned that his son may have hurt himself when he fell. Yeah. That had to be it. Didn't it? Was she thinking unfairly of him? Was this all just in her head?

The team said their goodbyes to the mother and son, Emily offering a small wave from her desk, before Hotch escorted his family to the elevator, saying his own farewell to them at the metal doors.

In the meantime, Gideon, JJ and Garcia all made their ways back to their offices. Morgan and Reid had settled back down at their retrospective desks and Reid had picked up from where he had got to on the file he was currently working on, while Morgan began to eat a sandwich.

Emily's gaze, however, remained fixed on Aaron Hotchner. She was still confused and a little in shock over what had just happened. The female profiler continued to stare as her boss kissed his wife and son goodbye, before making his way back through the bullpen. As he headed past her work-space, towards his office, his glare locked onto her again. And she didn't need to be a profiler to see it.

He hated her.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily Prentiss had no idea why her boss hated her. Sure, she understood his original feelings of distrust towards her. But this was getting ridiculous. Three months, one week and 4 days. That's how long she had been working under him now and she had shown tremendous dedication. Every single day she arrived earlier than the others and left later than them. She followed orders without fail and never complained when she felt she was getting lumbered with the less desirable tasks. And still, he failed to acknowledge her worth.

The female profiler had told herself that there was no way she was going to let him get to her. She had wanted this job for so long, his childish, bullying tactics weren't going to get rid of her.

The team were currently away on a case in Georgia.

Emily was at the local police department with Hotch. He had given them all their assignments, earlier that morning. Although he didn't tell her she was coming to the precinct with him. No it was a rarity that he ever spoke to her directly. Instead he told Gideon 'I'll meet with the detectives at the local PD and I'll take Prentiss with me.' Emily never got told what to do by him. No, he only ever told other people what she was going to do, when she was around to hear it.

It was much later in the afternoon now and Emily was scanning through the photos and information of the unsub's victims, along with the pictures of the potential missing men and women from the area that Garcia had got for them earlier, trying to figure out the pattern in the Unsub's victimology.

"Coffee, beautiful?" A masculine voice whispered in her ear.

She jumped up from her seat at the sound and her heart raced, as she spun around to face the owner of the voice. "Didn't you know, you should never approach an armed federal agent when she's not expecting you? I could have shot you."

Detective Hill, as he had introduced himself earlier that day, chuckled. "Then I would have died and your gorgeous face would have been the last thing I saw. I can think of worse ways to go."

She laughed a little at that. "Flattery will not earn you forgiveness."

"How about flattery, plus coffee?" He asked, holding the cup he had previously offered out her, the smile on his face growing when she accepted the drink.

"You're well on your way to redemption, Detective." She let out, after taking a sip of the hot liquid.

"How about when this case is wrapped up, I find some other way to make this up to you?" He questioned suggestively, licking his lips as an afterthought.

Emily smiled, almost shyly, at Detective Hill. It had been a while since she had received this kind of attention and although she wasn't really attracted to Hill, it was nice to feel noticed. "Well Honey, I don't know if you could handle me." She teased, with a wink.

"Is that so?" Hill grinned from ear to ear, raking his eyes up and down the body of the female agent stood before him.

"Prentiss! A word please?" The angry sounding voice of her supervisor pulled her away from her conversation, before she had chance to even think of a response.

Emily excused herself and stepped away from the detective, not travelling far at all before coming to a halt in front of Aaron Hotchner. "Sir?"

"When we are invited to a police department to work a case, every agent in this team is representing me and representing the Bureau. Do you understand that?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she nodded. "Good. Then I hope that means that you understand, throwing yourself at the local detectives is not the level of professionalism we aim for here in the BAU."

"Sir, I…" Emily rushed to defend herself, but she was swiftly cut off.

"I don't want to hear your excuses, just don't let it happen again." He gave her a piercing stern glare, before pacing away from the shook up profiler.

All she could do was stand in shock, her cheeks flushing red as she noticed the looks she was receiving from some of the other police officers. Detective Hill had been far enough away to not hear what Hotch had said, but plenty of other people had managed to witness the entire show.

As the shame subsided, the anger grew inside her. Garcia and Morgan were practically having phone sex on loud speaker in the middle of the precinct, just thirty minutes ago and Hotch hadn't said a word to either of them. She considered chasing after him, calling him out on his unfair treatment of her. But she knew it was pointless. He hated her and wanted her off of the team. In all honesty what good would it do to have a slanging match with him over this?

Instead, once again, she let it go.


	3. Chapter 3

The months dragged on and things stayed very much the same between them.

Emily continued to work harder than everybody else to prove her worth and on good days, Hotch acted like she didn't exist and on the bad days, he lashed out at her.

There had been a second incident with a flirtatious male police officer around a month after the issue with Detective Hill. Hotch had scolded her again for her 'inappropriate behaviour' and at least this time he had the decency to do it when they were alone. That much she was almost grateful for.

Now, almost six months from the day she started, Emily Prentiss had decided that she needed to stop wallowing in self-pity. If Hotch didn't like her, that was his problem. She had worked hard to become a profiler on this team and she was happy to be working here, despite a certain somebody's best efforts to rain on her parade.

She was excelling in the role, she knew that, and she didn't need his approval.

The rest of the team had been friendly enough. She'd even started getting invited out with JJ and Garcia every now and then on a Friday night when they didn't have a case. She found the two other female members of their team to be excellent company and now considered them good friends.

She didn't always go with them, depending on what the workload was like. Emily liked to get ahead on paperwork and always did more than her fair share of the files given to them.

This particular Friday night, as Penelope stood at her desk pleading with her to join them on a night out, Emily opened her mouth to decline, but halted as her gaze drifted passed the bubbly blonde and fell on the sight of her boss working away in his office. She looked back down at the large pile of paperwork on her desk, before shaking her head. Emily Prentiss had spent the last six months doing everything she could to show Aaron Hotchner how hard she was willing to work and how much she deserved her place here. But he still hated her. She was done convincing herself that overcompensating in the workplace was ever going to win his approval. So, she pushed the unfinished work to one side, before smiling up at the hopeful tech girl. The paperwork could wait until Monday.

"Sure, I'd love too." Emily spoke, earning an excited squeal from Penelope.

The ladies had all returned home to change and grab some food, before meeting at 'Murphy's' a local Irish bar they had frequented a couple of times before.

They were only halfway into their first round of drinks, when the dreaded vibration of JJ's cell phone brought frowns to their faces. Emily and Penelope watched with hopeful glances as the media liaison took the phone call, before the blonde ended the call and let out a long sigh.

"Sorry ladies, they need us back at the office." She informed them.

"Well well well. Damn ladies." Derek smirked as the three well dressed women entered the conference room. "Don't the three of you just look..."

"Morgan." Aaron Hotchner's warning tone, pulled all attention to him, as the girls all took seats around the table.

As Hotch and Gideon took turns explaining the nature of the case to the rest of the team, Emily listened intently, brushing off the appreciative comments Morgan whispered in her ear about the low cut, v shape neck line of her shirt. Although, she couldn't fight off the slight blush that coloured her cheeks.

"I'll call and have them prepare the Jet for us. Garcia, due to the internet aspect of this case, I'd like for you to travel with us. Wheels up in two hours." Hotch finished, causing everyone to rise from their seats and head for the door. "Prentiss. A word?"

"Sir?" Emily questioned, stepping back towards her supervisor, her mouth opening a little in shock as she witnessed his stare drop to her chest, eyeing the cleavage offered up by her slightly revealing shirt. She gasped as his tongue came out moisten his lips.

The noise falling from her mouth snapped his attention up to her face and his eyes widened, before a wave of anger ran through him. "You need to change."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're shirt." He continued, glaring harshly at her from across the table. "It's not appropriate workplace attire. Please make sure you change before we set off later." With that said, Hotch took his glance away from her, instead staring down at the paper files on the table in front of him.

"With respect, sir." Emily spoke up, feeling a little confused and angry. "JJ, Penelope and I were at a bar when we got called in. I didn't have time to change before we got here. I thought it would be more productive to come straight to the briefing, rather than getting changed first." She defended, before adding as an afterthought. "As did JJ and Penelope. I had every intention of changing my outfit, before we fly this evening."

"Good." The Unit Chief responded, not shifting his gaze from the papers before him. "As long as we're in agreement."

Prentiss scoffed at that, turning and pacing quickly out of the conference room, before she ended up saying something she would really regret.

How dare he? He should have known that she was going to change and even if she didn't, was it really that big of an issue? It's not like she was dressed in a bikini. Sure her shirt was a little low cut and tight, but hell, she'd seen other female members of the FBI in more revealing tops. Why was it such a problem for him? And, come to think of it, why was she the only one being pulled up on it? JJ's shirt was just a low cut as hers was. Now Emily would admit, that as her breasts were a fair bit larger than the blonde's, it would make sense that Emily's shirt would seem more revealing. But at the end of the day, two women had entered that conference room wearing 'inappropriate workplace attire', yet only one of them had been pulled up on it. Emily saw red as she clutched hold of her go-bag and made her way to the changing rooms.

Once the raven haired woman was out of sight, Hotch let out a long sigh before dropping back down onto the seat he had previously occupied in the conference room. Why did he have to be such an ass to her?

He knew the answer to that question… better to piss her off than to let her find out the truth.

The truth…

What was the truth? He wasn't even sure of that himself.

Aaron Hotchner was a man that liked to work with facts. But what were the facts?

Fact one. He was married. He was a married man. Was he happily married? At some point, yes he was, but now he wasn't so sure. He loved his wife and his son. He loved them more than anything else on the planet. That much he did know. So why, for the last six months of his life, had he been unable to stop thinking about Emily Prentiss? Since the day she had stepped into his office, clutching the box containing her things, she had constantly been on his mind.

And it terrified him.

He was a profiler, a damn good profiler. He understood things about the human mind that not many others could say they did. But the one thing he failed to understand was his attraction and desire for Emily Prentiss. It was like nothing he had ever felt before, and it was affecting his ability to behave rationally.

It probably didn't help that the day she arrived in his office, he'd had a huge argument with Haley over his 'commitment' to the job and his 'lack of commitment' to their son. Not that he had any intention of cheating on Haley. Of course not, not for a second. He would never even consider it. But on the first day he had ever considered that he was no longer completely happy in his marriage with his wife, the most beautiful woman he's ever seen just happens to walk into his office.

Hotch had every intention of standing by his wife. Of making his marriage work. He loved Haley.

And that is why he did everything he could to distance himself from the beautiful brunette that had invaded his mind. In all honesty, after the suspicion of her unexpected arrival had subsided, Aaron felt that she was a perfect fit for the team. Her dedication to the job was admirable and she was as good a profiler as any other member of the team. At times he hated himself for behaving so cold towards her. He knew that she probably hated him, but it had to be that way.

He didn't like it, but he could live with her hating him, as long as she never discovered just how much he desired her.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been over seven months now and still no change. Emily had officially decided that if she was going to stay in this job, the job she had wanted for so long, then she just had to stop letting Hotch's behaviour get to her.

Since the whole 'inappropriate shirt' issue, things hadn't actually been so bad. They pretty much just stayed away from each other. Prentiss had noticed that since that day her boss hadn't paired himself with her once. She was often sent with Gideon or Reid.

It wasn't until six weeks later, on a particularly brutal case in Dallas, that they found themselves working together.

It had been a tough case for all of them.

The ones that involved children always affected them differently to all other cases. They were stressed. Three seven year old brown haired, blue eyed little girls were already dead and the team were racing desperately to save the current victim. McKenzie Bourne had been abducted the same as all the others and judging by the Unsub's strict schedule, they had an hour to find her alive. Otherwise they would be finding yet another body of a seven year old girl with her throat slashed.

Hotch, Prentiss, Reid and JJ pulled up in one SUV at the address Garcia had given them for the Unsub, Miranda Williams. Morgan and Gideon were in a second vehicle, hopefully not too far behind them.

They'd profiled this unsub and Hotch knew that their best chance of getting both McKenzie and Miranda out alive was to send in his female agents. So that's what he did. He didn't like it, but he knew that if Miranda felt panicked and cornered she wouldn't hesitate to kill the girl. Hopefully JJ or Prentiss would be able to get through to her. He trusted their ability to empathize.

Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau entered the residence with their guns raised. They cleared the downstairs rooms before heading upstairs, finding the Unsub in the first bedroom. The pair entered the room cautiously as they spotted the sharp blade that was currently pressed against the throat of a teary eyed little girl.

"Miranda Williams." Emily spoke firmly, but trying to keep her tone calm. "My name is Emily and this my colleague Jennifer, we're with the FBI."

"Don't come any closer." The frazzled woman called out, backing herself into the corner of the room. "I'll kill her."

The frightened child let out a desperate scream as she was pulled back against the Unsub, the blade digging slightly into her skin. "Help me, please."

"Ok." The brunette agent lowered the arm holding her glock and held the other arm up in surrender. "I'm not going to come any closer."

JJ followed suit, lowering her weapon slightly. "We just want to talk to you."

"I did it for the children."

The agents could hear the anger in her tone and as another terrified scream escaped from McKenzie's lips, it was all Emily could do not to just take the head shot, wipe Miranda out there and then.

"Their mothers didn't love them. I did them a favour." Miranda spoke again.

"We know." The brown haired profiler agreed. "I can see how well you've looked after McKenzie. She looks well fed and those clothes aren't cheap. I can see that you really care about her."

"Her mother doesn't deserve her. She gets angry with her. No mother should get angry with their child. It's not right." The Unsub's voice raised as she continued. "It's not right! It's not fair!"

"Please!" The little girl shouted out to the agents, tears violently escaping from her bloodshot eyes. "I don't want to die. Please! Help me."

"We agree with you." JJ offered. "McKenzie deserves a good life."

"We know that's all you want for her." Emily agreed. "You're just trying to give her the life she should have. The life you never had."

Miranda's fierce stare locked onto Emily's.

The profiler continued. "We know that your mom was sick when you were Mckenzie's age, we know what she did. She beat you and that wasn't fair. You didn't deserve that. You were innocent, just like Mckenzie. Let Mckenzie come with us and I promise you that we will make sure she gets well looked after. You have my word on that."

"Your word means nothing to me!" Miranda spat.

"Please." The pleading voice of Mckenzie Bourne sounded again. "Please."

"My mom didn't just beat me, you know." Miranda told them. "She used to cut herself. And she used to cut me too."

"I know." Emily offered a small sympathetic smile. "That's why if you let Mckenzie go and you come with us now the DA will be understanding to your situation. We know that you were only trying to help those girls."

"I did help them!" She yelled. "They're in a better place now."

JJ spoke next. "The day social services took you away, your mom held a knife to your throat just like you are doing to Mckenzie right now."

For the first time since the FBI had entered, Miranda risked a glance down at the child.

Emily continued. "She was a very sick woman, but she didn't do it. She let you go. She took so much from you, Miranda. But she didn't take your life. I know that she didn't treat you the way you were supposed to be treated, just the same as Mckenzie's mom doesn't treat her the way she should be. And I'm so sorry for what you went through. I really am. But you were given the opportunity to live, that's the one thing she didn't take from you. I promise that we will make sure Mckenzie has good life, the life I wish you could have had. All I'm asking is for you to give her a chance at a good life. Please, can you do that?"

The room went unexpectedly silent as Miranda took in everything that had been said to her. Emily and JJ remained hopeful but cautious, hands holding their weapons tightly. Even Mckenzie had stopped her whimpering as she waited to hear the answer from her captor.

Miranda Williams let out a long sigh, before her stare locked onto Emily's. "No."

With as little hesitation as possible, Prentiss lifted her gun and fired a shot into the centre of Miranda William's forehead, killing her instantly.

But it was too late.

Aaron Hotchner and Spencer Reid stormed into the house, guns raised, at the sound of the gun fire. Reid cleared the downstairs rooms while Hotch hurried straight upstairs, where he was sure the sound of the shot had come from.

Upon entering the room, Hotch's jaw dropped at the scene before him. Miranda Williams was dead in the corner of the room with a GSW to the head and in front of her body lay the corpse of McKenzie Bourne, throat slashed. They'd lost another one.

The Unit Chief took in the frozen state of his female agents. Neither one of them had turned to acknowledge his entrance. He placed his hand on the back of JJ's shoulder and the blonde turned to face him, tears having already escaped her eyes.

He knew that they saw a lot in their line of work. They dealt with some of the worst criminals on the planet. But having a seven year old girl murdered just 4 feet in front of you, that wasn't something they were going to be able to shake off easily.

Without much thought, Hotch pulled the media liaison into a hug, as a sob escaped her.

"I'm sorry, Hotch." She let out. "We tried."

"I know." He soothed, rubbing her back comfortingly. "It's not your fault."

Reid cautiously entered the room, making his way over to the bodies, eyeing them sadly before turning to face his colleagues, looking like he might vomit.

Hotch spoke out to him over JJ's shoulder. "Go outside. Call Gideon and let him know what's happened and make all the other relevant calls." He paused glancing over at the other agent who had witnessed the terrible murder, whose teary stare was now fixed on him and JJ. "JJ go with him."

Spencer put his arm around the blonde, once Hotch released her, and led her out of the house.

Once the pair exited, Emily's eyes returned to the horrific scene in the corner of the room. Hotch wanted nothing more than to close the distance between them and pull her into his arms. He knew she compartmentalized well, but this was different.

"Prentiss." He called out to her, cautiously placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She breathed out, liquid freely cascading down her flushed cheeks.

"I'm sure you did all you could." He told her, hating how professional he sounded. Would it really kill him to show her a little compassion? "There's no need to apologise."

Her gaze flickered around to meet his and she turned, before her stare shifted to the hand he still had placed on her shoulder. Emily had seen a lot in her days, but this had to be the worst. A seven year old girl, begging her to save her, had just been murdered right before her eyes. And it was her fault. She should have taken the shot sooner.

She felt the need to throw herself into her supervisor's arms. Sure he hated her and she really didn't think much of him, but right now she was beyond devastated. What had just happened had broken the once unbreakable Emily Prentiss.

With that thought process over, the female profiler stepped warily into her boss' personal space. Surely he wouldn't deny her the tiniest bit of comfort after what she had just witnessed.

"Prentiss." His voice came out as a whisper, as his other hand came up to rest against her other shoulder, stopping her from coming any closer. "Go outside, get some air. I'll wait here for everyone. You find JJ and Reid."

Emily scoffed at the remark and if possible her tears increased. "You really do hate me, don't you?"

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't hate you." That was the problem. He didn't hate her at all. It didn't matter how much he tried to distance himself for her, or how much he tried not to pay attention to all the little things he liked about her and respected her for, he couldn't fight his desire for her. It didn't matter how much he wanted to, or how much he knew she needed him to, he couldn't bring himself to wrap his arms around her. Because he knew that if he did that, he'd never want to let go. And maybe if he was single, he'd have given in. But he wasn't. He was married. As stupid as it may seem to anyone else, if Hotch allowed himself to hold a woman he desired as much as Emily Prentiss in his arms even if only to comfort her, in his mind, that was a good as cheating on his wife. He couldn't do that. "I don't hate you." He repeated.

"Then why?" She questioned, her glance flickering between the hands that held her shoulders tightly, keeping her away from him.

"I'm married." He let it slip out before he'd even realised what he was saying. His eyes widening at the idiocy of his confession.

Her expression changed to one mixed half way between hurt and rage as she pulled away from his grip roughly, before hurrying out of the building.

"You fucking asshole." He muttered to himself, when Emily was out of earshot, hanging his head in shame.


	5. Chapter 5

It was around a month after the terrible case in Texas and Aaron Hotchner found himself staring down at the beautiful brunette, working away in the bullpen.

Prentiss had been different since that day. She still arrived and left at the same times every day and she continued to put everything into her job. Her dedication could not be faulted and she continued to excel in his eyes.

He'd spent more time gazing at her from a distance over the last eight months than the married man liked to admit. So he didn't need to be a profiler to see that, over the last month, her smiles were now forced and her eyelids had become heavier. Loss of sleep. Nightmares. It happened to all of them, of course. But over the course of her first seven months with the team, it had seemed as if nothing could get to her. She never even flinched at the sight of the terrible things they witnessed on a daily basis. But this case had been different. This one had broken her.

Hotch himself had been struggling over the last month also. Not because of what happened to McKenzie Bourne, no. Of course, that had been an awful case for all of them. But he hadn't witnessed the little girl's murder, like Prentiss and JJ had. No, Aaron Hotchner's issues came from two other women. Erin Strauss and Haley Hotchner.

Strauss had been after dirt on him for a long time now. She was convinced that he was after her job and it didn't matter how much he tried to convince her that he never wanted to leave the BAU, she wouldn't let it go.

He had never really let her get to him. He loved his job and he knew that he was good at it. He hoped that over time she would see that he had absolutely no intentions of trying to compete for her position, and they would be able to move forward peacefully and professionally.

All hopes of that happening disappeared because of one phone call. One phone call that may well have cost him his marriage.

Erin Strauss had given up on trying to have Aaron fired and instead had decided on a more friendly approach, offering him various transfers within the bureau. Eventually she sat down with him and placed in front of him a file containing information on a job opportunity that she was sure he wouldn't be able to say no to.

More money. Standard hours. Weekends off and more vacation days. Extra financial family benefits. A 'no brainer', she had informed him with a smirk.

His phone had buzzed on the table, it was JJ telling him that they had a case. He excused himself with the promise to look over the offer and get back to her. He only said it to be polite. She was right, it was a 'no brainer' for him. He belonged in the BAU.

The case dragged on and Hotch spent most of it dodging Strauss' calls. The woman sure was persistent. On their fourth day in Ohio, Aaron was surprised to glance down at his private cell and find seven missed calls from his wife. He immediately excused himself and called her back, fearing something was terribly wrong.

"Haley?" He spoke as soon as the call was answered. "I'm sorry, I was in an interview. I had my phone on silent. Is everything okay? Are you and Jack alright?"

"We're fine, Aaron." His wife assured him and Hotch relaxed at the sound of her cheery tone.

"Oh, you've tried to call me seven times in the last forty minutes?" He questioned.

"Your boss has been trying to get hold of you on your cell and she couldn't, so she called the house."

"My boss?"

"Erin Strauss."

Hotch instantly felt a frown greet his features. Why would she call his home phone? She knew that he was in Ohio, working a case. What was she up to? "What did she say?"

"She told me that she needed your final answer today on the transfer." Haley answered happily. "Oh Aaron, she told me all about the offer, the extra money, the nine to five hours, no more disappearing on weekends. Aaron this is perfect. Why haven't you got back to her yet?"

How dare she? She was using his wife to try and bully him into taking a position that she knew he didn't want. How fucking dare she? "Because, I'm not taking it." The words fell out of his mouth without much thought.

"Excuse me." The angered woman spat. "You're giving up on the job offer of a life time? The chance for more money and to see your son, every night and every weekend? And for what Aaron? What is so damn special about the BAU?"

"It's who I am, Haley." He pleaded with her to understand.

"No Aaron, it's what you do." The blonde protested. "A father. A husband. That's who you are. We haven't been in a good place for a long time now Aaron and you know that your job is the cause of it. This job offer is exactly what we need. Can't you see that?"

"I love my job, Haley. Can't _you_ see that?"

"Don't!" She shouted into his ear. "Don't try to make me the bad guy, here. If you're not going to take this job then hang up the phone now. Go back to your team and show them that you love them more than us. If that's how you really feel, then go ahead. But don't expect me and Jack to spend every day of the rest of our lives hoping that you're going to come home. Hoping that one day you'll change and decide to put us first. I'm done waiting, _Hotch_."

He hated the sound of his nickname falling from her lips. He knew she only called him that when she wanted to hurt him. "I'm not taking the offer. I'll call Strauss and tell her now. I have worked so hard to get to this point in my career, please don't make me quit the job I love doing. I love you, Haley and I love Jack. I'll make it up to you guys when I get home, I promise. I love you both so much and I don't want to lose you."

"Too late, Aaron."

Hotch returned from Ohio the next day to an empty home, with a note saying that his wife and son had gone to stay with his sister in law, next to the note was her wedding ring.

That had happened a week ago and still Haley had refused to return home, despite his best efforts to convince her to.

He held his head in his hands, wondering why it was impossible to find a kind, smart, beautiful woman, who would understand his dedication to his career. Haley definitely ticked the first three boxes. How perfect his life would be if only she possessed that final quality.

It was at this thought that his gaze had drifted into the bullpen and of their own accord his eyes sought out Agent Prentiss. He couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to his checklist. Kind, check. Smart, check. Beautiful, check. Understands the job, check.

A deep frown fell upon the Unit Chief's face and he inwardly scolded himself for his thought process. There was something seriously wrong with him. His wife had not been out of the house for a week and he was already looking at another woman. His subordinate, no less. Not twenty minutes earlier, he'd been on the phone to Haley, pleading with her to come back to him and now here he was imagining what it would be like to have a different woman by his side. He needed to pull himself together.

But she was so beautiful. The intensity of his attraction to the brunette agent had really taken Hotch by surprise. Sure he'd noticed other women's beauty before, but his aching desire for Emily Prentiss was something impossible to explain with words. It was affecting him more than he could bare.

A small growl left his lips as he inwardly battled to keep his emotions under control. His resolve almost departed when her gaze flickered up to meet his. The look of fright in her eyes took him by surprise. But then he realised that the angry expression he was wearing, due to his inappropriate thoughts, had been what she'd been greeted with as their eyes met.

It was no wonder that her gaze had almost immediately dropped back to the paperwork on her desk. He probably looked like he wanted to kill her right now. Oh, if only she knew what he really wanted to do to her? She'd probably look even more terrified. If she knew how he was imagining, holding her, kissing her, fucking her…

Aaron cursed himself again. Yep, there was definitely something seriously wrong with him.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been nearly a month since Haley had left and Hotch had finally come to terms with the fact that unless he quit his job, there wasn't a chance in hell of winning her back.

It shocked him a little at how easy he seemed to be getting over the idea of living his life without Haley. His deeper concern was maintaining a good relationship with his son. Himself and Haley had sat down and discussed some preliminary terms with regards to custody and visitation of Jack and during that conversation the 'D' word had been thrown around.

Haley wanted a divorce.

It had shocked him at the time, but thinking back Hotch wasn't all that surprised in all honesty. Looking back at his marriage, it was fair to say they had been growing apart for a while.

What was more shocking to Hotch, currently, was Jason Gideon's recent departure from the unit. To say it had been unexpected would be a huge understatement. His team were all taking the news hard, especially Spencer.

Hotch was having to pick up even more work than he usually did, due to the senior agent's disappearing act. Although he wasn't overly happy about it, it was proving to be a helpful distraction from the fact that his personal life had fallen apart.

As the days went on, Hotch had been struggling more and more with the extra workload that the former profiler's absence caused. He was trying to get around to finding a suitable replacement but that was proving more difficult than he had hoped.

So when Erin Strauss had announced that the legendary David Rossi wanted to return to the BAU to work under him as part of his team, he was quite thrilled, in all honesty. He knew Rossi fairly well, due to times they had worked together over the years. David Rossi was just what he needed and the timing of the news couldn't have been more perfect, as Aaron had just finished going through the last file he had of the unsuitable applicants.

Later that week SSA David Rossi stood in Hotch's office. The Unit chief began his explanation of some of the changes that had occurred since Dave had last been with the Bureau, until JJ entered the office, handing Hotch some paper files and introducing herself to Agent Rossi, before swiftly making her way back to her own office.

"Well we didn't have that before." Dave spoke, his gaze following the blonde as she walked away.

"Excuse me." Hotch's tone deepened, as his eyebrows furrowed at the older man's comment.

"A communications liaison."

"Oh." Aaron's voice softened again. "You'd be surprised how helpful it can be to have JJ on the team. The media get into everything now. We'd struggle to work as effectively as we do without her."

Dave simply nodded, his gaze shifting, now that the blonde was out of sight, to the rest of the team down in the bullpen. "And this is the others?"

"Yes, Derek Morgan started off as a beat cop for Chicago PD. He's worked hard for his place on our team and is now one the finest profilers I know. Dr Spencer Reid is our expert in pretty much everything. The kid's a genius. Gideon was a mentor of sorts for him and he's taken Gideon's departure the hardest, but he's slowly qgetting back to his old self. And finally, Agent Prentiss." Hotch paused, careful over what to say next. "She's our most recent addition to the team."

"How long has she been with the unit?"

"Nearly nine months."

David Rossi's eyes shot up finally to meet his new boss'. "Nine months and that's it? She's the most recent addition?" He raised his brows, before staring down at the female through the glass window. "I find it hard to believe you know nothing else about her."

"She's the daughter of Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss." Hotch continued. "She's a hard worker and she seems to be a good fit."

"She's pretty." Dave smirked, eyeing the brunette.

"She's off limits." Aaron Hotchner hissed out through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at the older male stood in his office.

"I know." Rossi nodded, turning to face the unit chief. "I'm well aware of the Bureau's fraternisation policy. I'm the reason it exists."

Hotch continued to stare angrily at the agent in front of him, not responding to his comments.

"Although, that's not what you meant, is it Aaron?" Dave raised an eyebrow and smirked at the younger agent. "You and her?"

"What? No… I…" Hotch flushed as he struggled to get his words out. "There's nothing going on between Agent Prentiss and I!"

"Oh, my mistake." Dave continued to smile accusingly over at the other man, whose glare did not soften. "You do want there to be though, don't you?"

Aaron simply continued to glare at the agent before him. For almost nine months he had managed to hide his attraction to Emily Prentiss from some of the best profiler's in the world, but within ten minutes of talking with Dave, the legendary profiler had sussed him out. This guy really was something special.

"I see pictures of your son in here, but none of your wife." Rossi stated, glancing around the office. "I take it things didn't work out. Is she the reason?" He questioned, gesturing in the direction of the bullpen.

"No."

"No, of course not." Dave spoke again, before Hotch had chance to elaborate. "I can tell you're not the type of man that would even think of looking at another woman while you're happily married. So what happened?"

Hotch let out an over exaggerated sigh. "The job."

"She didn't understand your commitment." The older man nodded in understanding. "How long?"

"Officially, we separated just six weeks ago, that's when she moved out anyway." He answered honestly. "I think we'd both admit, our marriage was spiralling downhill not long after Jack was born. In her eyes I was constantly putting the job before our son."

"She wanted you to work a standard nine to five?"

"Something like that." Hotch confirmed.

"I'm sorry." Rossi offered. "Having been through three failed marriages myself, I know it's not easy."

"In all honesty, I'm not overly upset that my marriage is over." Hotch answered. "I just miss my son."

"Understandably." Dave agreed. "So, what is the deal with Prentiss?"

"What do you mean?" Once again the stoic glare returned to Hotch's face

"Come on Aaron, you can tell me."

"There's nothing to tell. There is nothing going on between her and I. I have no interest in pursuing anything with her. And even if I did, you yourself just pointed out the fraternisation rules."

David Rossi chuckled, moving toward the door, intending to seek out the office next door, Hotch had mentioned earlier. "You know, you said that rather convincingly. I almost believed you."

With that said the older agent disappeared without giving Hotch a chance to reply.

Once Dave was out of sight, tucked away in Gideon's former office, the unit chief found his gaze searching for the female member of the team who had been invading his mind, more so than ever over the last month.

Now that things were definitely finished between himself and Haley, he found himself feeling less and less guilty about some of the more inappropriate thoughts he was having about Emily. Sure, she was still his subordinate and he could never actually allow anything to happen between them, but hey, a man could dream.

He watched her intently, smiling at the look of focussed concentration she had. She worked so hard, everybody in the team did, but she seemed to put her heart and soul into everything she did. With the exception of himself, she was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. Her dedication to her job was something to be marvelled. It was hard to believe someone so intelligent and beautiful chose to spend time that was her own to do with as she liked working. Was it that she still felt the need to justify her positon on the team? Hotch scowled at the thought. He knew at times that he treated her a little harshly. He didn't intend to, he just couldn't bare he thought of her realising how much he wanted her. At first the attraction had been purely physical. But as he'd worked with her more and more, observing her from a distance, there was more than just a physical attraction. He craved her affection.

Yet still, as the beautiful brunette caught his stare and offered him a wary smile, all he did was scowl down at her. He cursed himself as her features dropped and she retuned to her paperwork. He hated how easy it had become for him to wipe a smile from her face. She probably thought he disliked her. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing. It clearly didn't seem to be affecting her much and it was better than her learning the truth.

If only he knew just how much his actions were hurting her.

 **Hey thank you for all the favourites, follows and reviews so far. I appreciate it. I've been wanting to get Rossi into this story since I started it, so I'm glad he's finally here. Will try to update again soon. Thanks again.**


	7. Chapter 7

He'd been back with the BAU for three weeks now and Agent David Rossi was willing to admit that he wasn't seamlessly connecting with the team as well as he hoped he would. It wasn't that he didn't want to. It was just all new to him. Different.

He wasn't used to working with such a diverse group of individuals. In all honesty, the funky tech girl and the child genius scared him a little and he definitely wasn't used to working alongside such strong female personalities as Agent's Jareau and Prentiss. The entire group dynamic was just so strange for him but he knew that it wasn't the group that needed to change. He himself needed to make more of an effort to adjust.

With that thought in mind, he made his way down to the office of the technical analyst. He entered the room without knocking and cleared his throat to catch her attention.

Garcia spun around angrily, obviously in the middle of something important. "What?" Her eyes widened and her expression instantly softened as she realised who was stood in her office. "Sir, I'm sorry, I… what can I do for you?"

"Are you free tomorrow evening?"

"I… Sir?"

"Tomorrow evening. Do you have plans?"

The blonde's mouth dropped open and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No sir I don't. Can I ask why you want to know?"

"I'm thinking of having the team over for a meal at my house. I realise I haven't made the best first impression and I want to change that. So would you be interested?"

A shocked chuckle fell from the female tech's lips, before she offered the profiler a grin. "Absolutely."

He nodded and smiled back at her. "I'll check with the rest of the team and get back to you with a time and the address."

After leaving her office, Rossi headed in the direction of the other blonde team member, knowing full well he owed this lady an apology. During his first case with the team, a couple of weeks ago, he had gone over her head and released information to the press that she had deliberately withheld. He had seen the angered look on her face when he had admitted what he'd done. The male agent stepped through the open doorway into her office and offered her a cautious smile.

"Yes sir?" She questioned, glancing up at him over the huge stack of paper files on her desk. "Can I help you with something?"

"I came to say I'm sorry. I know that the media is your area of expertise and I apologise for stepping on your toes with that case." He told her. "I'm not used to this group dynamic. Things are different to what we used to do and I'm struggling to adjust. I promise to make more of an effort, going forward."

She smiled and nodded at him from across the small room.

"As a further apology, I was wondering if you would be free to come over to my house for dinner tomorrow evening?"

JJ's eyes widened and a light blush coloured her cheeks. "Sir, is that appropriate?" The blonde was well aware of the legendry profiler's reputation, but she hadn't expected to find herself on his radar.

"Oh, no. I think you misunderstand me." Rossi rushed to explain, fully understanding the implications that came with his earlier offer. "I'm inviting the whole team. Sort of a building bridges gesture. Sorry, I realise I didn't make that clear."

"Oh." The communications liaison let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and offered the older agent a smile. "Sure, if everybody else is up for it. I'm free."

"Great. I'll get back to you with the details."

David next headed to the bullpen inviting Morgan and Reid to the get together, glad that nobody seemed to need much convincing. Prentiss was away at a seminar, so he would have to catch her when she returned later in the afternoon. He next approached the office of Aaron Hotchner. He knew that this man was going to be the one that would take the most convincing.

He knocked on the door, entering upon being called in. "Hey Aaron."

"Dave, what can I do for you?"

"Dinner at mine tomorrow evening." He quickly realised he'd made the same mistake he had with JJ, so rushed to add. "With the rest of the team."

"You're having the entire team over to your house?" The Unit Chief questioned. "And you're cooking for them?"

"That's the plan." Dave responded. "I have the go ahead from four of them so far, just need confirmation from yourself as well as the lovely Emily."

"I don't know, Dave."

"Oh, come on, you can bring Jack along, if that's the issue."

"No, it's not that." Hotch assured him. "Haley keeps Jack one weekend of every month and this is her weekend coming up. I was just going to stay here and work late tomorrow evening."

"So you're free to come to dinner with us?"

"I just said that I was…"

"The paperwork can wait until Monday, Aaron." Rossi interrupted. "Come over, it won't be a team meal, without the entire team."

"Fine, what time?" Hotch admitted defeat, wanting to get back to the papers on his desk.

"Say seven?"

Hotch nodded.

Dave turned to leave, stopping in his tracks and spinning back around, as he remembered something he'd been meaning to ask the younger agent for a few days now. "What have you done to upset, Prentiss?"

"I'm sorry?" Aaron's slightly angry stare shot up to meet the gaze of the other profiler.

"For the last week she's seemed somewhat upset and she's been completely avoiding eye contact with you. And I notice that you haven't spoken directly to her all week. Now I know I'm new to this team, but I'd like to assume it's not always like that between the two of you? So I'll ask again, what have you done?"

Hotch didn't really want to admit that it was pretty much always like that between himself and the beautiful woman. He knew that his behaviour didn't really affect her that badly. She was still one of the finest agent's in the division and held friendly relationships with the other members of the team. His distancing himself from her didn't really cause any damage. That was what he'd convinced himself anyway.

Dave was right about one thing though, he knew that Emily Prentiss was angry and upset with him about something in particular at the moment. Something stupid that he'd hated himself for making into such a big issue.

His mind flashed back to the early morning, two days earlier.

* * *

"You need to change your shirt."

"I'm sorry?"

"We've spoken about this before, Prentiss."

"With respect, sir, I don't see the issue with my shirt."

 _The issue is that I can't stop staring at you in it, and I need to get this work done._ "It's inappropriate for the workplace."

"How so?"

 _It's tight, leaving almost nothing to my imagination and from up here in my office when you're at your desk, the low cut gives me a perfect view of you breasts._ "Don't question me, Prentiss. I don't want to have to write you up over something this ridiculous. Just change into something more professional and we can put this behind us."

Emily Prentiss had stared down some of the worst criminals the world had to offer and she did it without fear or hesitation. But stood here, in front of him, she had never looked so defeated and vulnerable. Hotch could tell that she wanted to scream and shout at him, but something was stopping her. Why was she holding back?

"Yes, Sir." She finally let out, her gaze sinking to the floor, before she turned and left the office.

Hotch watched her leave, almost stopping her, wanting to take back everything he had just said. He knew that he had no right to ask her to change but he was glad that she had agreed to. Obviously he would never have written her up for something so pathetic, but it was either threaten her with that, or tell her the truth. No, he couldn't do that.

* * *

"I asked her to change a shirt that I thought was inappropriate." He admitted to the older male. "She did as I asked, but I don't think she appreciated the request."

"You asked her to change?" Dave looked at his colleague incredulously. "Why? How bad was this shirt?"

"There was nothing wrong with it really." He confessed quietly.

"Then why? Oh…" Dave's eyes widened, before a chuckle escaped him. "You were… enjoying the view a little too much, I take it?"

"Shut up, Dave." Aaron Hotchner retuned his attention back to the work on his desk, effectively blocking out his friend as the other man continued on talking. Hotch was no longer paying attention to him, instead too engrossed in his paperwork. He took in the odd word. Something about feelings, then something about fraternisation, something about Prentiss, something about apologising and then finally something about the get together at Dave's. Finally Hotch's eyes shot up to find Dave seemingly waiting on an answer from him about something. What had he just asked him? Something about going to the team meal, he was sure. "Okay." Hotch responded, hoping this answer would get Dave's approval. He wanted desperately to get ahead on the paperwork, if he was going to be leaving on time the following day.

"Good." Rossi smiled. "I'll let you get back to work then."

With that said the older agent exited Hotch's office, feeling pleased with himself. He headed back down to the bullpen, coming to a stop in front of Morgan's desk, calling for the attention of Morgan and Reid, as well as JJ who was perched on end of Spencer's desk.

"Hotch is attending tomorrow night too. Does seven work okay for everyone?" He smiled as the group all nodded. "Excellent, I'll text you all the address. And by the way. Aaron's upset Emily, so I've asked him to invite her along tomorrow evening. He needs the excuse to start up a conversation with her so he can apologise."

"Hotch and Emily have never really gotten along." JJ told him. "They work professionally around each other though. What did he do?"

"Yeah, what has he done?" Morgan questioned, his protective traits showing as his gaze hardened. "We've all noticed the tension between the two of them in the past, but I always just put that down to him being hard on her when she first started because he didn't really trust her arrival. Like JJ said, they've never been friends, but they've always remained professional. What has he done to upset her?"

"I don't know." Rossi lied. "I don't believe it's anything unforgivable, but I know Aaron wants to apologise. So I'd appreciate it if none of you would mention dinner to her until after he's asked her. If she already agrees to come along, then his excuse to speak to her will be gone."

"If he's upset her, he shouldn't need an excuse." Morgan argued.

"I know, but this is Aaron." Dave explained. "Staring down prolific serial killers, no problem. But apologising to an upset woman, not something he excels in."

The three agents nodded in agreement before they all got back to work, JJ promising to pass the message on to Garcia, before returning to work herself.

Emily Prentiss arrived back from the seminar a lot later than planned. The boring event had run over by more than a few hours, so when the profiler finally returned to the office, everybody had already finished up and gone home for the day. Well, everybody except SSAIC Aaron Hotchner.

Emily flopped down angrily into her chair. She had a lot of paperwork that needed to be completed today, with regards to the seminar, before a meeting with Section Chief Erin Strauss the following morning. It was going to be a late one. She might even end up staying later than Mr 'Doom and Gloom' himself.

Hotch glanced at his watch, his eyes widening at how late it was. It was no real surprise to him that he was still here working so late. The shock came from the fact that Emily Prentiss was still working away down in the bullpen. The Unit Chief packed up his things and exited his office, locking the door, before heading down the steps. He came to a halt at the side of his subordinate's desk.

"Prentiss." He called for her attention

Emily was so engrossed in her paperwork, she hadn't even heard him approach. She noticeably flinched as her surname fell from his lips and she spun around in her chair to face him, her expression matching one of a deer caught in headlights.

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed at her reaction. It was understandable that she may have jumped a little at first, but the look of panic that remained spread across her features confused him. "You're here late."

"Sorry Sir." The female agent rushed to apologise. What she was apologising for, neither of them were sure. But the words seemed to flow freely. "Sorry. The seminar ran a lot later than expected and I have to get all of this done before my sit down with Strauss tomorrow morning."

"Do you need any help?" The words came before he'd even thought it through.

Evidence that Emily was shocked by his offer, instantly began to show in her facial expression. "No sir. I mean… thank you. I really appreciate the offer but there's not much left. I can come in early and finish it tomorrow morning, before the meeting."

The room went silent as Hotch stared at the beautiful brunette in front of him. He knew he owed her an apology for his recent behaviour. In all honesty, he probably owed her an apology for the last ten months. But for some reason he couldn't seem to force his lips to form those two little words. Why was it so difficult for him to just come out and say 'I'm sorry'?

"Sir… can I help you with anything else?" She questioned, as he continued to gaze at her.

 _Say it, you idiot. Tell her you're sorry._ "No. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Agent Prentiss."

With that said the male turned and headed towards the exit, inwardly cursing himself for his cowardly actions.

 **Thank you all for spoiling me with so many reviews over the last 24 hours. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Emily Prentiss arrived at work the following morning, happier than she had in a long time. Two things had her smiling as she entered the bullpen. The first was that she had received an email from Erin Strauss first thing saying that the Section Chief had to attend an unexpected meeting with the Director and that she would have to postpone her meeting with Emily until the afternoon, giving Emily the time she needed to finished all the relevant paperwork without rushing.

The second thing that had brought a smile to the female agent's face, was her short encounter with her boss the previous evening. Although the conversation may not have seemed like anything special to anyone else, to Emily Prentiss it was a night of three firsts. One, it was the first time he had ever offered her any help with her workload. Two, in the ten months she had been in his team it was the first time he had ever said 'good night' to her at the end of the day. And three, Emily was sure that during that conversation, it was the longest time he had ever held eye contact with her, except when he was scolding her for something.

Was he finally starting to trust her and accept her as a part of his team? Prentiss didn't want to read into it too much. But she was sure at the very least that things were looking up. Maybe if she wasn't a profiler, she wouldn't have thought anything of it. But a profiler she was and the changes in her boss' behaviour last night had to be a good sign that things were moving in the right direction.

She wasn't expecting miracles and she certainly wasn't just about to forget everything he had done to upset her over the last ten months, but Emily couldn't help but feel happy about the idea that maybe, they were slowly moving towards having a healthy 'boss and subordinate' relationship.

With a small smile fixed to her face, the female profiler sat down behind her desk and began finishing up her paperwork from the previous day.

That Friday morning, Aaron Hotchner had, if possible, been spending even more time than usual stealing glances at his female subordinate. She seemed happy. He was sure, in fact, that this was the first time he had seen a genuine smile grace her features since that terrible case with McKenzie Bourne.

Hotch's gaze was torn away from the glowing brunette by the sound of his cell phone alerting him to the fact that he had a text message. The message was from Dave. The older agent was away at a school lecture with Morgan and Reid. A part of their new recruitment and FBI awareness scheme.

'Have you spoken to Emily yet?' the message read.

Hotch sighed. He should have known that Dave was going to be pushing him to apologise. 'Yes.' The reply technically wasn't a lie. He had spoken to her. He just hadn't apologised yet, Dave didn't need to know that though, did he?

'And… what did she say?'

He should have known that it was never going to be that easy. 'I'll get back to you on that. I need to speak to her again.' Hotch knew that he really did need to apologise.

'Need some convincing does she? Now might be a good time to enlist the help of the sassy tech girl.'

The Unit chief's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at that last message. What did Dave mean about her needing convincing? He supposed the older profiler must have assumed that Hotch had apologised already but that Prentiss must just have needed some convincing to forgive him. That was good, at least he hadn't figured out that Hotch had just wussed out of saying sorry all together.

But the part about getting Garcia involved confused him even more. Did Rossi seriously expect him to get someone else involved in helping him apologise? Well that definitely wasn't happening.

'Don't worry. I'll sort it.' Was the final message he sent, before getting back to his work.

As the day went on, Hotch became so wrapped up in his paperwork, that by the time he got around to working up the nerve to apologise to Prentiss, she'd already headed off to her afternoon meeting with Strauss.

Hotch knew how long and boring these sit downs with the section chief could be, so he wasn't all that surprised when finishing time came around and there was still no sign of Emily. He wrapped up his work on time, like he had promised Agent Rossi he would, deciding that no matter what, he was going to apologise to Emily Prentiss at the team meal that evening.

The Unit Chief headed home and got himself changed before setting off towards Dave's home.

When he arrived at the mansion, only a little late, Dave greeted him before leading him into a room where the rest of the team were sat. Well, almost all of the team.

"Where's Emily?" JJ questioned, looking over at were Hotch and Rossi stood.

"No Emily?" Dave turned from the blonde, to ask Aaron.

Hotch missed the questioning tone of his friend's comment. Instead only taking in the words.'No Emily' He nodded with a sigh, his features dropping at the realisation that he wasn't going to see her that night.

The team all appeared sad at the news that one of their family was missing from the occasion. Their spirits soon lifted though at the wonderful smell that drifted in from the kitchen.

Emily Prentiss had finally arrived home from work. The meeting with Strauss had seemed like it was never going to end and she had genuinely never been so happy to hear the words 'that will be all for today' so much in her entire life.

The female profiler had raced to her favourite Chinese takeout restaurant on the way home from work, deciding she really couldn't be doing with cooking. It was Friday night and she was going to treat herself.

At home, armed with enough food to feed a small army, Emily flopped down onto the couch flicking through the television channels, before settling on something to watch and digging into the greasy goodness spread out across her coffee table.

Emily read a little of her book after she had finished eating and loaded the leftovers into the refrigerator, before indulging in a nice hot bath.

After getting ready for bed the brunette read a little more, before she felt her eyelids getting heavy. It wasn't particularly late, but Emily had had a few restless nights that week, she hadn't really been sleeping well for a while.

She'd been struggling a lot more with her Unit Chief's behaviour than she was letting on. She was so good at hiding her feelings and emotions, even from a team of the best profiler's in the world. But just because she hid them well from others, that didn't mean she could hide them from herself. Especially when she was at home alone, trying to sleep, with nothing but her thoughts for company.

She had considered reporting his actions. She knew she had every right to. But Emily had grown up surrounded by everyday politics. She had no idea who was in who's pocket in the FBI and the last thing she needed was to voice her concerns to the wrong person and end up making more enemies or making things worse for herself further down the road. God she really hated politics. Plus, the other members of her team loved their boss. She definitely didn't want to risk sabotaging any relationships she had formed with her other colleagues.

She had hope though, now. Perhaps things really were improving.

As she lay in bed, Emily decided to quickly check her cell phone. No text messages. No new emails, well no important ones anyway. Just as she was about to plug her IPhone in to charge overnight, a facebook notification pinged up on her screen. 'Penelope Garcia has updated her status.'

Penelope's Facebook statuses were usually something comical that brought a smile to Emily's face. What better way to end the day? With that thought in mind, Emily swiped the screen and opened the app, her jaw dropping open in shock the second the page loaded.

The post read, 'Hands down, the best meal I have ever eaten in my life. Thank you so much, David Rossi, you culinary God.' Attached to the post were numerous pictures. Everyone was there. Garcia, Rossi, JJ, Morgan, Reid, Hotch. The entire team. Every one of them. Except her.

She wasn't sure how long she spent staring at the screen, scrolling through the pictures. Why wouldn't they invite her? She knew that Hotch had an issue with her and Rossi didn't really know her. But the other four, they were her friends. Or at least she thought they were.

Had she just imagined all the times JJ and Garcia had invited her to lunch or on a girl's night out? Had her mind made up all the times Morgan had shamelessly flirted with her or seemed like her protective big brother? Had her head invented all the times her and Reid had had their 'Nerd talks' as Morgan liked to call them?

No, it had all happened. So what had changed? Had she done something? She didn't think so, but maybe she had. Or was it Hotch? Had he somehow turned them all against her? Did they all hate her now too?

Emily couldn't help but think back to earlier that morning and how she'd finally felt as though things were getting better. How wrong she had been.

The brunette slammed her cell down on the dresser beside her bed, not even bothering to plug the device in to charge. She threw herself down into the bed, salty liquid pooling in the corners of her brown eyes, threatening to escape at any moment.

Emily Prentiss felt like a teenager again. She'd always been the weird new kid that nobody wanted to be friends with, growing up. Even as an adult she'd struggled to find a place she fit, until recently. With the obvious exception of her boss, her colleagues at the BAU had become the closest thing she'd had to a family in a long time. So what had gone wrong? Why didn't they want to invite her along tonight? She would have loved to go.

The raven haired woman hadn't even realised she was crying until she felt the dampness of her pillow against her cheek. The tears continued to fall late into the night until finally the tiredness consumed her and she fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Hotch pulled open the door to his apartment and his jaw noticeably dropped at the sight before him. Emily Prentiss stood in front of him in a tight black piece of fabric that could barely be called a dress. It clung to her curves, showing off her perfect figure and the neckline dropped daringly low, giving him an amazing view of her plump, pushed up breasts.

The cleavage along with contrast of her beautiful pale skin against the dark lacy fabric of the 'dress' was enough to have him salivating. But then his gaze dropped to her legs. The black material stopped dangerously high on her thighs, exposing a portion of creamy flesh reaching just beneath her knees, where the leather of her black 'fuck me' boots began. He felt himself harden instantly.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" She asked with a grin, tilting her head to the side.

All Hotch could do was step aside, taking in the sight of her gorgeous ass as she walked past him.

"I've figured it out." She spun around and caught him staring at her, smirking up at him. "Why you're so mean to me."

The male gulped as she leaned past him to push the door to his apartment shut. He seemed to have lost the ability to do anything except stare unashamedly at the beautiful woman before him. She locked the door, before grabbing hold of his tie and pulling him through the apartment, into his bedroom. Once inside, the sexy female pushed him back onto his bed and then straddled his hips.

She ground herself against his fabric covered, painfully hard manhood, smirking at the loud groan that escaped him, before leaning to whisper in his ear. "I know that you want me."

Her teeth nipped at his earlobe, as he lay there frozen beneath the gorgeous brunette.

"It's okay, sir." She sucked lightly on the skin of his neck, before sitting up to stare down at him seductively. "I can forgive you. As long as make it up to me."

The woman grinned mischievously as she ground against him again, pulling yet another pleasurable moan from the stunned unit chief. Her hands came down to the bottom of her dress and she slowly moved to pull the black garment from her perfect body.

Hotch's eyes shot open as he sat up and gazed around the dark room, panting heavily. It took him a moment to realise that he had been dreaming. He tried desperately to get control of his breathing, as his stare shifted to the tented material of his boxers.

This wasn't the first time he had dreamt of Emily Prentiss. It was however the first time he had allowed himself the pleasure of release afterwards as he thought of having her in his bed.

* * *

Emily Prentiss arrived at work at the same time as usual on Monday morning. As she sat down at her desk, she could see the light on in her boss' office, but couldn't bring herself to glance up and look at him.

A wave of emotions had hit her over the weekend, mainly loneliness, hurt and anger. She had almost considered calling in sick but she knew that delaying seeing them wouldn't make things any better in the long run. So she had a choice. Either get on with her job like nothing had happened, just except the fact that the team hated her and get on with it. Or she could confront them, ask them what their problem was with her and demand to know why she had been excluded from Friday's gathering.

She was still internally debating which option she was going to go for, as she began working away at the paperwork in front of her. She hadn't been working long, when a voice greeted her from behind.

"Good Morning, Emily."

The female Agent spun around in her seat, turning to face David Rossi. She almost felt like crying at the sight of the male profiler. It had been his 'party' after all, if anyone was to take the brunt of the responsibility for leaving her out of the event, it had to be him.

"How was your weekend?" He questioned, after it had taken her too long to reply to his greeting. "You were greatly missed on Friday."

At that comment her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Did he not realise that he hadn't invited her? Or was he simply trying to cover the fact that he'd left her out, knowing that she would have seen Garcia's Facebook post?

"Don't look so shocked, Emily." He continued, when she still hadn't spoken. "I didn't need to be a profiler to see how disappointed the team were when Aaron announced that you were unable to attend. You mean more to them than you realise."

When Aaron what? Did that mean…? No, he wouldn't. Surely, he wouldn't. Hotch had told them that she didn't want to go? Why would he do that? She knew that he didn't like her, but still. This was a new low, even for him.

"I probably should have asked Garcia to invite you, instead of Aaron. I imagine she would have been more persuasive. Although, it's understandable that you already had plans. It was a bit last minute." Rossi told her. "Next time, though, we'll have to make sure you're free before we arrange anything."

Emily continued to stare at the man before her, completely stunned by what she had just learned.

"Is everything alright?"

"Fine, yes. Sorry. Lost in thought." She quickly pulled herself together. "And definitely. I would love to join you all next time."

"We'll have to arrange something soon." He promised with a smile, before making his way to his office.

Once Rossi was tucked away in his office, Emily's rage levels began to rise as she stared up at her boss. That bastard had made her spend an entire weekend thinking the people she considered friends hated her. And why? Because he didn't want her there? How dare he?

She could feel her fists clenching up and her eyes narrowing. She couldn't stop herself from reacting. She hadn't been this angry in a long time. It was at this point she decided that no matter what happened, she was getting answers. One way or another, before the days end, she was going to confront Aaron Hotchner and find out just what his problem was.

 **Hey thanks again for all the reviews. This is the first chapter I've released that I'm not completely happy with but I needed it out the way to concentrate on the next one which is going to be a big one. Emily finally confronting Hotch. Sorry if this one seemed a bit rushed or below standard. And yeah, I know the dream was a bit random.**

 **Now, just to quickly address a few readers' concerns.**

 **1\. No, I can promise you, in absolutely no way is Emily just going to swoon and forgive Hotch and fall in love with him the second he apologises. If he ever does get round to apologising.**

 **2\. Yes, the team will all find out about some of what Hotch has done, mainly the team meal incident, but not just yet. But when they do, no one is going to be all too happy with their team leader.**

 **3\. I promise not to abandon this story. Anyone wondering/asking about the stories I started writing seven years ago and then abandoned, I do have every intention of completing them. Life got very difficult and busy for me after I left school and my passion for writing had to slip. I have already finished and published 'Dating' now. But 'Life after the Hangover' 'Losing Hope' and 'The last word series' are proving more difficult, as I was a teenager at school when I started writing these. I'm now a 25 year old supermarket manager and a wife and mother, so my ideas and prespective on things are different, but I do promise to try and complete every story I have started.**

 **Thanks again. I promise to update with the next chapter soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

SSAIC Aaron Hotchner stared down into the bullpen, his gaze instantly seeking out Emily Prentiss. Something was wrong today. She was angry about something. He was sure of it, even if he wasn't a profiler, he would have been able to tell.

He'd been glancing down at her even more often than usual and on the occasions when her gaze had locked onto his, she didn't quickly look away like she had done in the past. She'd even offered him a cautious smile at times. But not today.

This day the roles were reversed. Every time her rage filled glare locked onto him, it was Hotch that found himself turning his head away swiftly.

He wondered if perhaps she had somehow managed to read his mind. Did she know about the dream he had had on Saturday night? Was she aware of what he had done to himself afterwards, as thoughts of her had filled his head?

Hotch knew he was being stupid. But surely she wasn't this angry over the whole shirt situation. He knew he had upset her and had yet to apologise, but why would she suddenly be so angry about it now? No, it had to be something else. Maybe it wasn't even him she was angry with.

It was late in the afternoon when the unit chief decided that he was going to talk to her. He needed to apologise to her and he wanted to find out what was going on with her currently.

The man stood up from his desk, heading towards his office door to summon his subordinate. His line of thought was interrupted by a young man stood in the doorway of his office.

"Aaron Hotchner?" the unknown male, questioned.

"That's me."

* * *

It was now four hours later and the profiler sat glaring at the papers that had been delivered. Haley had finally done it. Aaron Hotchner was officially going to have a failed marriage under his belt. He let out a long sigh, before ripping his wedding band from his finger and throwing it down onto the intruding papers on his desk.

For the last four hours, Aaron had done nothing. Nothing but sit silently in his office, with the blinds closed, staring at the divorce documents.

He thought he had come to terms with the fact that his marriage was coming to an end and in truth he had. But for some reason, the idea of being officially divorced bothered him more than it should have.

He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk, pulling out the bottle of scotch and a single glass, pouring himself a small drink. He downed the liquid quickly, ignoring the slight burning sensation in his throat, as he poured himself a second drink. That one he sipped away at more slowly.

The male had just finished the last bit of liquid, when a knock at his door demanded his attention. He glared at his watch. Who else was still at the office this late?

"Come in."

Emily Prentiss entered, closing the door behind her, before striding over to her supervisor's desk. She placed the files she held down, before making her way back towards the door, wanting to put a little distance between the two of them before she got what she wanted to say off her chest. The female agent spun around, feeling salty liquid beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. A part of her wanted to chicken out, wanted to just leave and carry on compartmentalising. Would he even care how much he was upsetting her? He had to know how bad his actions had been, didn't he? She could feel her emotions bubbling out of control. What had he done to her?

No, there was no going back on her decision now. This was the day she was going to get answers.

"Prentiss? Are…"

"What did I ever do to you, Sir?" The teary eyed glare of his subordinate pierced into him, as his gaze locked onto hers.

"You haven't done anything." He responded stoically, his mouth parting slightly in shock afterwards though, as a sob tore its way from the back of her throat.

"Then why? Why do you hate me?" She let out through her sobs, not even attempting to stop the liquid escaping from her eyes. She had hoped to try and keep her composure during this, but things had gone on for too long and she couldn't lock away her emotions anymore.

Aaron Hotchner remained silent as he stared, wide eyed, at the broken agent stood before him. All this time he'd concentrated so hard on keeping his feelings for her under wraps and making sure she had no idea of his attraction to her, he never even stopped to consider how much his behaviour could be affecting her. She compartmentalised so well. He didn't think for a second that it would bother her if he wasn't overly pleasant to her. "I apologise if anything I have said or done has upset you, but I can assure you, I don't hate you."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" The brunette spat, glaring daggers at her boss. Hotch noted how the look she was throwing his way was no longer that of someone broken or upset. This was a look of anger, no, rage. "You apologise if you've said or done anything to upset me? Are you trying to deny every time you've singled me out from the rest of the team? Every time you've second guessed my opinion, but then agreed with it when someone else suggests it? Or how about every time you've criticized my professionalism around male detectives, or my choice of wardrobe? JJ can flirt with whoever she likes and wear whatever she wants and you never say a word to her about it. Morgan and Garcia have conversations, on speaker phone, that would make people working on a sex phone line blush, yet you say nothing. Me, on the other hand, I so much as smile at someone of the opposite sex and you humiliate me and make me feel like a whore."

Hotch's mouth dropped open in shock. In all his stupidity over hiding his attraction towards her, how had he failed to see just how horrifically he had behaved towards her?

"You're so caring about the rest of the team. You're always asking everyone how they're doing and if they're okay. I've seen you make them coffee on days when you know they're struggling. After tough cases when you know it's affected one person more than the others, you have their favourite coffee sat waiting for them on their desk when they arrive. You've done it for all of them so many times. But never for me. Not once." She paused catching her breath and trying desperately to calm herself down. With each thing she was bringing up her rage was building as she knew if she wasn't careful, she was going to end up saying something she'd really regret. "Ten months, Hotch. I've been working under you for ten freaking months and some of these cases have crippled me, but not once in ten months have you ever brought me a cup of coffee, or asked me how I'm doing. Not once."

She was angry and broken and hurt and this was all because he couldn't handle his emotions. He tried to find the words to apologise. But what could he say that would ever truly make this okay?

"Have you ever noticed, Sir, that you never actually give me a direct order on a case?" She carried on, taking in his confused expression. "You never say 'Prentiss, you go to the dump site', or 'I want you to come to see the victim's family with me'. Instead you just tell other people that I'll go with them or you. You say 'Dave, go to the coroner and take Prentiss with you', or 'Reid, you go and talk to the suspect and take Prentiss with you' or 'I'll go straight to the local PD with Prentiss.' It's like I'm some sort of hassle that you have to decide who to palm off with this time, or if you're going to do everyone a huge favour and put up with me yourself. You act as if I'm less than human."

A single tear slipped from the unit chief's left eye as he listened to how badly he had treated her. How could he do this to her?

"Then there was the case with McKenzie Bourne…" Emily began, her eyes forcing themselves shut as the image of that little girl dying before her flooded her mind. "I needed… something from you that day. I don't know what. I still don't understand why you couldn't push whatever hatred you have for me aside and just be there for me, like a supervisor should be for his subordinate. And then you tried to blame your marriage, after I had just watched you effortlessly pull JJ into a hug. How stupid do you think I am? It had nothing to do with your marriage!"

Tears continued to fall down Emily's cheeks, as she paced the room trying to calm herself once more.

"You wanna know the thing that's hurt me the most?" She paused, continuing when all her boss did was stare. "That team meal at Agent Rossi's house. I thought that the entire team had decided to meet up without me. I thought that they all hated me because of you." Hotch's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't you dare try and pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about! It's one thing to treat me like shit around the office, but for you to deliberately exclude me from something that the rest of the team wanted me to attend, just because you have an issue with me... That's low, even for you."

"Prentiss, I didn't…"

"Are you really going to deny it?" The angry female cut him off. "Rossi already told me that you were supposed to invite me."

"I…" Hotch stood up from his desk, moving towards her. "Prentiss, I had no idea I was supposed to invite you. Perhaps there was a miscommunication between Dave and myself, but I…"

He stopped talking, as what could possibly be described as a growl ripped free from inside her. "Bull. Shit. You know what, Sir? If you're just going to deny everything then what is the fucking point of this conversation? You're not going to change. And despite how hard you try, you're not going to get me to quit. So enjoy your evening, Sir. I'll see you tomorrow."

With that said, she turned to leave, her hand gripping the handle and pulling the door open a fraction, before it slammed shut again. She spun around to find Aaron Hotchner right up in her personal space. His left hand pressed firmly against the door, by the side of her head, while his other came up to lightly sweep away the fresh tears that had begun to fall from her beautiful eyes.

Emily gasped at the tender touch. She glared up into his eyes originally expecting to see anger. Instead what she saw confused her. He was afraid. Afraid of what though?

"Prentiss, I won't deny anything. Everything you've said about me is true." He confessed. "I do treat you differently from the rest of the team and I have my reasons for that. Pathetic, selfish reasons, but I assure you, they're not the reasons you think. I have criticised you unfairly on a number of occasions for all the things you mentioned. I do show you less care and attention than I do the rest of the team, even when you need it the most. The way I treated you when McKenzie Bourne died was disgusting. I have put you down and insulted you in ways I will never forgive myself for. It's all true." He paused, making sure she was taking in every word. "But, I swear to you, on the life of my son, I didn't deliberately try to exclude you from Dave's dinner. Please believe that." He pleaded with her. "I don't understand exactly what happened, but I give you my word, I never intended to leave you out of the gathering."

The two stayed in silence for a short while. Emily thinking things over in her head and Hotch giving her the time to do so.

He remained hovering over her, his hand pressing impossibly hard against the solid wood of the door, not wanting to risk the chance that she could run away from him, before he had the chance to apologise.

"Why?" She finally spoke, glaring daggers.

"Why… what?" He questioned, cursing himself for sounding like an idiot.

"Why did you do it? What are these pathetic, selfish reasons that justify the way you've treated me?" She continued after a moment of silence, when he didn't respond immediately. "Whatever reasons you have, I don't care what they are, I deserve to know. I _need_ to know."

Hotch let out a long sigh. He knew he couldn't deny her an explanation. A small voice in the back of his head told him to lie to her, to come up with any excuse in the world to hide the facts. But he couldn't do it. After everything he had put her through, she deserved the truth. "When JJ or Garcia or Morgan or any other member of the team flirt or behave somewhat inappropriately, you're right I never pull them up on it, because I don't care. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. But you, when I see you flirting, it… affects me. The way JJ dresses is irrelevant to me. She could come in wearing hot pants and a bikini top and I probably wouldn't bat an eyelid. You on the other hand… Anytime I have ever pulled you up on your wardrobe choices, it's not because I think you look unprofessional or 'like a whore.' It's because I couldn't keep my eyes off you. You were a distraction I didn't want to have to deal with, so instead of just controlling myself and acting like a grown up, I lashed out at you unfairly."

Emily Prentiss' jaw dropped at his confession.

The Unit chief took in and let out a few deep breaths before continuing. "Mckenzie Bourne…" He paused at the memory of the case. "You have no idea how much I wanted to comfort you, to hold you. And that's exactly why I didn't. I wasn't lying when I blamed my marriage for not being able to hold you. That was true. Sure I hugged JJ. That was nothing more than comforting a colleague and friend. But if I'd have taken you into my arms that day, I know that I never would have wanted to let go. If I let myself hold you, how long would it have been before I gave in to the urge to kiss you? I know how stupid it sounds. Trust me, I know. But I was married, I had to distance myself from you."

"Was?"

"I'm sorry…"

Emily's head tilted ever so slightly to the side, her gaze flickering down to his left hand, noticing that his ring was missing. "You said 'I was married.'"

Another sigh left Hotch's lips. "Haley and Jack haven't been living with me for months now. Divorce papers arrived today." He admitted nodding over to the papers on his desk.

"Oh, I…" Emily almost felt herself wanting to apologise, but refrained, still furious at the man in front of her.

"Look, that's not important right now. Emily, I have been fighting my attraction to you, since the first day you came into my office. It does not, nor will it ever, excuse the way I have treated you. But that is my reason."

There was a long pause, their stares fixed to each other's the entire time, before Emily finally spoke, her tone showing no sign of emotion. "You're attracted to me?"

He nodded.

"Is that really the best excuse you can come up with?" She hissed, angrily.

"It's the truth." The older profiler brought his hand up to caress her cheek gently, flinching as she slapped his hand away.

She scoffed, clearly unimpressed with his advance and his explanation. "I don't believe you."

"Then believe this." Knowing full well that he shouldn't be doing it, but unsure of how else he could show her that his reasoning was sincere, Hotch pressed his lips against Emily's firmly. The feeling was so perfect, it took him a moment to realise that she hadn't responded to the kiss. At that thought, the male pulled back the smallest amount and searched her eyes for any sign of what she was feeling. He noticeably gulped at the look of rage that cloaked her widened gaze.

Using all the strength she could muster, Emily pushed forcefully against her supervisor's chest with both hands, catching him off guard and sending him flying backwards, stumbling, before falling back and landing heavily on his ass.

"What the fuck was that?!" The angry agent screamed, standing over her boss, a crazy glint in her stare. "You've spent the last ten months making my life hell and now, just because you're going through a divorce, you think you can kiss me?" She spat. "Are you out of your freaking mind? I have worked so hard to get this job, and I love it. I love my job, but I have spent so many mornings dreading coming into work, because of you. You tell me I compartmentalize well and you're right, I do. At work. But there has been a couple of nights when I have cried myself to sleep because of you. How dare you try to kiss me after that?"

All Hotch could do was stare up at her speechless. He couldn't believe what he had just done.

"I mean, why? Because you're going through a divorce and you're lonely?"

"No…"

"Because you're attracted to me?" She scoffed again at the thought. "Even if that's true, let's set aside the fact that we work together for a moment, how could you possibly think, even for a second, that you would stand a chance with me after everything you've put me through? What could have been going through your head that made you think kissing me was okay?"

She waited for a moment, giving him chance to answer her, before growing impatient as he continued to gawk up at her.

"You know what, I'm out of here." With that said, Emily Prentiss stormed out of the office, down the stairs, through the bullpen and into the elevator without turning to look back for a split second.

Aaron Hotchner watched her leave, staring at the spot where she disappeared out of his sight a long time, before finally dragging himself up off of the floor and dropping down into his chair, running his fingers through his hair.

What the hell had he been thinking? His mind raced through the events that had just taken place in his office. He hated himself for the way he had made her feel for all these months. And she was right, of course, how on earth did he have the audacity to kiss her after everything he'd done? Firstly, he wanted to blame the Scotch. The alcohol was the problem here, he never would have kissed her if he hadn't been drinking. But he'd only had two small glasses and he was nowhere near drunk. It was pointless to try and blame the booze. Next he wanted to blame his attraction to her, he had warned her, after all, that if he ever got close enough he wouldn't be able to stop himself. So in a way, this was her fault.

"You asshole." He cursed himself out loud, at the thought of blaming her.

Deep down Hotch knew that there was absolutely no one or nothing to blame for any of his actions over the last ten months. Not work, not alcohol, not Haley and certainly not Emily. The only person he had to blame was himself, and if he was ever going to have any hope of making the situation better, he had to stop pushing around blame, face his emotions rather than running from them and above all else he had to find a way to make this up to Emily Prentiss. He knew that last one wasn't going to be easy. He had no idea how he would ever be able to make thing right with her, but he had to try, whatever it took.


	11. Chapter 11

Emily Prentiss arrived at work just on time then next morning. She received raised eyebrows from Morgan and Reid, questioning the fact, as this was the first time that Emily hadn't already been sat at her desk, working away, when they came in. She was always here before them. In most occupations, colleagues wouldn't think anything of it, but this was part of the fun in working with a team of profilers.

"Is everything okay, Emily?" Spencer Reid questioned from his place behind his desk.

The female agent smiled over at him, before responding. "Yes, everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" He inquired, his eyebrows furrowing, as he fully took in her appearance.

She had showered and was dressed no different to usual, but she knew that it was her eyes that had given her away. She hadn't really spent all that much time crying overnight, however her mind was boggled from her conversation with Hotch the previous evening. She hadn't slept for a single second that night and she had seen for herself, both in her mirror at home and the one in her car, that fact was obvious. She had bags, her eyelids were thick and heavy and the whites of her eyes had reddened.

"Let me guess," Derek Morgan intervened, grinning from ear to ear as he came to perch himself on the edge of Emily's desk. "Late night, Princess?" He moved his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Emily let of a chuckle.

"Have a little company last night, did we?" He smirked, as he saw Reid blush at his comment.

"Nope, no company." She smiled up at Derek. "Just me and my hot tub."

"Damn girl." Morgan leaned in a little closer to her, deliberately looking her up and down. "Where was my invite?"

Prentiss' eyes widened and she began to look around almost frantically, praying that Hotch hadn't overheard that, before inwardly slapping herself for still being worried what he thought. After their conversation last night, Emily had decided that she wasn't going to let anything Hotch said or did change her anymore. She'd wear what she wanted, she'd act how she wanted, she'd say what she wanted and if he treated her unfairly again, she'd pull him up on it and she'd report him. But it was like she was one of those people from the conditioning studies. They were made to feel pain every time they saw a picture of or touched a certain item, to the point where they were simply afraid of the item even after the studies had long finished, because they had been conditioned to associate it with pain. Emily had subconsciously been conditioned to associate flirting with being told off by her boss. She rolled her eyes at the thought. What had he done to her?

"Prentiss, are you sure you're okay?" Morgan asked her, worry embedding in his own features.

Emily swiftly composed herself, trying to shake all thoughts of Hotch from her brain. "Yeah, I'm good. Sorry, I was just lost in thought, thinking of you in my hot tub." She replied, winking up at him.

"Oh really?" The male profiler's huge grin returned. "Well send me an invite next time and we can make those thoughts a reality."

She laughed out loud, as Morgan returned to his own workspace. "Keep dreaming, Agent Morgan."

"Oh believe me, I will."

Emily continued to smile as she spun around to face the work on her desk. That was when she spotted the intruding item on her workspace. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of a coffee cup from 'The Fever Bean', the little shop up the road where she sometimes liked to stop off and get coffee before work. She eyed the cup suspiciously, before holding it to her nose, inhaling the familiar scent of her favourite drink.

Her smile faltered as she realised instantly who had bought this for her. After what she had said to him yesterday, she just knew that this had to be from him. She fought every cell in her body that was encouraging her to glance up into his office. He would be watching her right now. That much she was sure of.

She took a small sip from the cup, noting that the drink was a little cooler that she usually liked it. Hotch obviously expected her here earlier too. It still tasted good though and after her long sleepless night, Emily needed all the coffee she could get her hands on.

She did consider throwing the drink away and going to the break room to make her own, but she shook her head at the thought. He clearly had listened to her yesterday and was at least making an attempt to redeem himself. After making a point of complaining that he never got her coffee, if Emily were to throw away a drink she was enjoying and wanted, simply to piss him off, how did that make her any better than him? No, she wasn't going to play games like that.

The raven haired woman inwardly congratulated herself for managing to drink the entire cup of coffee and start working on her first file without gazing up at her boss' office once. A part of her wanted to, so desperately, but the more dominant, self-controlled, part of her couldn't face him yet.

Hopefully she'd be able to make it through the entire day without catching his eye. That was her plan anyway.

She heard the sound of heals clicking through the bullpen, before the voice of their communications liaison rang out. "Hey guys. Conference room. We have a case."

Well, there went that plan.

Emily took in a deep breath as she followed Morgan and Reid up the steps in the direction of the conference room. She had heard JJ call Dave and Hotch out of their offices on her way, so Emily knew that they would already be inside the room when she entered. She tried to calm herself down, as her heartrate increased. How had he managed to make her like this? She knew she needed to pull herself together. She was going to walk into the room, look him in the eye and get on with things like the professional she knew she was.

With that thought in mind, she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, as she was the last to enter.

As the door clicked shut, suddenly Emily's self-confidence faltered and instead of seeking out his gaze, she sat down at the table and kept her stare fixed on JJ the entire time the blonde was explaining the case to them.

When JJ had finished the presentation, Hotch stood up from his seat. "They definitely have a serial killer on their hands and with the Unsub rapidly decreasing time between kills, he's escalated to the point where we may have another body any day now. Wheels up in one hour."

The team all got up from their places and began to exit the room.

"Prentiss, could I have a word, please?"

Emily stopped dead in her tracks at her supervisor's request. She waited until the rest of the team where gone before finally turning around to face him. "What can I do for you, Sir?" She internally praised herself for making that response sound so natural.

"I wanted to apologise again, not only for my actions yesterday, but also for my behaviour towards you since you joined this team. I'm disgusted with myself. I put so much effort into hiding my attraction to you, that I didn't even see how much I was hurting you." He paused, continuing when she made no attempt to reply. "I should never have kissed you yesterday, I don't know what came over me. That was my stupid attempt at a confession of my feelings for you as well as an apology. And I do realise now, how ridiculous it was to assume that it was okay to do that. I genuinely don't know what was going through my head. I can't apologise enough."

Silence filled the room as she stared blankly at him. What seemed like an eternity passed, before she finally responded, emotionlessly. "It that everything, Sir? I need to get ready to leave. We have a case."

The unit chief sighed, nodding his head. He watched her reach the door, before calling out to her once more. "Emily."

She spun around at the sound of her first name falling from his lips.

"I'm sorry." He finally spoke the two words he should have said to her almost every day for the last ten months. "I know that it's likely too little too late and doesn't even begin to make up for my actions. But I am really sorry."

The female remained frozen in the doorway for a short while, searching the eyes of the man stood before her. She saw a mixture of emotions flooding his dark orbs, most dominantly though were regret and shame. She offered him a small nod, turning to leave again, before speaking over her shoulder. "Thank you for the coffee."

Hotch's lips twitched up ever so slightly at her comment. Sure her tone had been completely monotone and he knew that he had a long way to go, he was far from forgiven. But maybe, just maybe, he had a the tiniest shot at redemption.

 **Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed this story so far.**

 **I've had a few people asking about the rest of the team. The next 3 or 4 chapters are going to involve members the team finding out about some of what Hotch has done. I know a few of you have been wanting to see that happen for a little while now, but I already had it in my head the way I wanted certain things to come out.**

 **Cheers again.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Quick answer to the question from anonymous reviewer asking if I'm planning to have a JJ/Rossi relationship in this story. No, sorry. I know I have added them as pairing in a couple of my other Hotch/Prentiss fics, but I don't have any intentions of pairing them together in this one.**

Later that day, the team, minus Garcia, were on the Jet on the way to Denver. They had gone over some of the facts of the case and now Hotch was giving everybody their tasks.

"Morgan and Rossi, you guys head straight to the most recent dump site. The rest of us will set up at the precinct. Reid work on a geographical profile, based on the abduction and dump sites that we know of and coordinate with Garcia to see if there are any more potential missing persons that fit the victimology. JJ get a handle on the press. I want to be very careful about what gets released. Obviously the media is going to be all over this so we have to give them something, or they'll start running all sorts of nonsense, but it's essential that we're in control of what gets out. After we've met with the local police, I'll take Prentiss with me to interview the most recent victims' families."

His gaze fell on the female profiler as he finished giving out the orders and he witnessed as the brunette's face dropped. His eyes widened as he realised what he'd just said.

'I'll take Prentiss with me'

Now Hotch was more than willing to admit that he had behaved coldly towards the female agent, ever since she had arrived on the team. B, but when she had called him out on never giving her a direct order, he had assumed she was over-exaggerating a little on that front. He scanned back over their most recent cases, desperately trying to remember giving her any kind of instruction. But he couldn't think of anything. Had he really not given her a single direct order in the last ten months? Surely that couldn't be true. Could it?

The Unit chief felt an over-whelming sense of shame wash over him as he continued to gaze across the table at the saddened woman.

He wasn't sure how long he spent zoning out and staring at her, but after some time his attention was pulled away by the sound of Derek Morgan speaking his name.

"Right, Hotch? Hotch!"

"Sorry,. I missed that." He informed the other agent, quickly pulling himself together.

"I was just going over what we already know about the Unsub." Morgan gave his boss a questioning look. "Where did you go, man?"

"I don't know, sorry. It won't happen again. Please continue."

The team all shared confused glances. Sure, every once in a while, one of them would zone out during a meeting or a briefing. It happened. But not to Aaron Hotchner.

They carried on with their preliminary profile, based on what little they knew.

Hotch spoke out again once they had finished. "Right, so as I said earlier, Morgan and Rossi, you guys head to the dumpsite. JJ, reign in the press. Reid, geographical profile. And Prentiss, you and I will interview the victims' families." It was an attempt to correct his earlier mistake. He had hoped that it would mean something to Emily and that none of the others would pick up on his unusual case of repetition.

But they were profilers. Damn good profilers. And Aaron Hotchner never repeated his orders.

He shouldn't have been surprised when they all through threw him wary glances.

"Seriously, is everything okay with you today, Hotch?" Morgan questioned, a concerned frown showing across his features.

 _No, not at all._ "Yes. I'm fine." He assured the other man, rather unconvincingly.

Morgan, Rossi, JJ and Reid all shared worrying looks, but didn't question their boss any further.

Hotch's eyes flickered over to meet the emotionless stare of Emily Prentiss. Profiler or not, there was no way of reading how she was feeling or what she was thinking in that moment. He didn't know what to do, what to say. A part of him just wanted to come out and apologise again for every single horrific thing he had done and said to her, right there and then in front of the entire team. He didn't know how to deal with this. How could he treat someone he claimed to care for the way he had treated her?

Not really knowing what else to do, he offered Emily a small, cautious smile.

Her stare remained unchanging and fixed on him for a short while longer, before her eyes narrowed to a glare, as she shook her head and started up a conversation with JJ, who was sat next to her.

The smile was swiftly wiped from the Unit Chief's face. Oh how their roles had reversed.

* * *

It was the afternoon of the BAU's second day working the case in Denver.

Hotch strode through the police precinct purposefully with two hot cups of coffee in his hands. He came to a halt in front of where Prentiss and Reid where sat, looking through the victimology report and the map showing the geographical profile. Without a word, the Unit Chief placed one of the drinks down in front of the female profiler, before heading into the sheriff's office still clutching his own cup.

Emily's eyes widened at the gesture. Her gaze followed her boss as he disappeared into the office, before she fixed her stare on the steaming liquid in front of her.

"What did he do?" Reid questioned, tearing her attention away from the beverage.

"I'm sorry?"

"Hotch makes coffee for somebody for one of two reasons. The first being that they've worked a tough case and it got to them. I may be wrong, but I don't believe this case is a particularly hard one for you. So that leaves reason number two, he's done something to upset you and he feels the need to apologise. Hotch was staring at you, when he zoned out yesterday on the plane and he was clearly uneasy about something afterwards. Rossi mentioned that he had upset you last week." The younger agent paused. " You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Emily. I was just curious."

Emily Prentiss considered telling her friend everything. Every detail, from the moment Hotch snatched his son off her to the time he kissed her in his office. But if he was seriously going to change from now on, she just wanted to put it all behind her. That was not to say she was just going to forgive and forget. No way. It wasn't that simple. Even now thinking back, she could feel the tears beginning to build.

She hadn't spoken about what had been going on with her boss over the last ten months with anybody and she knew that spilling the story to him now, would not only upset Spencer, but it would likely have her crying her eyes out in the middle of the police department. There was one thing she did want to tell him though. The team knew that Emily didn't really have a social life outside of work, so she felt it was important for them to know the real reason she hadn't attended the team meal. She didn't want them to think that she simply decided not to go.

"The dinnermeal that you guys had at Agent Rossi's last week. I would have loved to have been there. Hotch was supposed to invite me and he… forgot." Emily settled on the word 'forgot', still not sure herself why she hadn't received the invitation.

"Emily, that's awful. I'm so sorry." Reid responded, his eyebrows furrowing, somewhat angry at his supervisor. How could he forget to invite Emily? She was the only person he had to ask. That thought reminded Spencer of something else. "But,… Rossi asked Hotch to invite you to the dinner so he could apologise for upsetting you. If the coffee is his way of apologising for not inviting you to the meal, then what was Hotch originally trying to apologise for?"

Ah. Emily hadn't thought of that. "Oh, that was nothing." She tried to brush it off. "Just some silly comment about something I was wearing." Technically that wasn't a lie. If he had been planning on apologising to her, the only thing he had done recently, before the whole meal incident, was make her change her 'inappropriate' shirt.

"I know that you and Hotch have never really gotten along, but things are okay aren't they?" The young profiler questioned, genuine concern washing over his features.

"Of course." Emily lied.

"Hotch gets so wrapped up in his work and his facade of being a 'no-nonsense hard ass', he forgets sometimes that we're humans, with emotions. But he's not a bad man. If he upsets you again though, Emily, you can talk to us you know."

Emily smiled lovingly as Dr Spencer Reid. She had to wonder, if she had just talked to the team every time Hotch had upset her over the last ten months, maybe she wouldn't have had such a hard time. Maybe they would have given her the confidence to confront him sooner and saved her several months of heartache. She couldn't think like that now though. She had to move forward. The female agent snickered at her friend and colleague. "Dr Reid, did you just call our boss a 'no-nonsense hard ass'?"

"Yeah… maybe don't tell him I said that."

"Your secret is safe with me, Spencer." She assured him with a grin, reaching over to gently squeeze his palm. "And thank you, you're a good friend."

He offered her a smile and a nod, before the pair returned to their work.


	13. Chapter 13

Once they had wrapped up their case in Denver, the team flew home to find they had another case waiting for them. Back to back cases. Brilliant.

The six tired agents strode into the conference room, to find Penelope Garica already waiting for them in there. As the team got settled around the table, the tech girl began to question Rossi on when he would be throwing the next team meal. Dave agreed that it was definitely something that they would do again soon.

"You gonna grace us with your presence this time, Princess?" Morgan asked Emily with a teasing smirk. "Unless you've got anything better, or should I say _anyone_ better to do? Or do you want to make time for us in that crazy life of yours, this time?"

"She wanted to make time for us last time, but Hotch didn't invite her." Reid announced, matter of factly, stunning the entire room to silence.

"What?" Morgan's jaw dropped in shock as he shot an angry glare at his boss.

Hotch glanced up from the file on the table, finding Emily with her head down, her gaze fixed to a spot on the table, while the other five members on his team were shooting confused looks over in his direction.

"Is that true, Aaron?" Dave questioned, incredulously gaping at the unit chief.

"I…" Aaron considered arguing that he hadn't in fact been paying attention when Dave had asked him to invite her, but looking around at their confused and angry glares, he decided against it, figuring it would do him no good trying to make excuses. He let out a long sigh. "Yeah, it's true. It wasn't intentional though, I swear. "

"Are you kidding me?" Morgan asked, angrily.

"Oh, gumdrop." Garcia spoke out, grabbing hold of the hand of the female profiler sat beside her. "What must you have thought when you saw the pictures on Facebook?"

Emily risked a glance up at Penelope, seeing an overwhelming amount of pity in her eyes. Her focus shifted around the room, taking in the comforting gazes of her fellow colleagues. "In all honesty, I thought you all hated me."

In unison five pairs of rage filled eyes shot what could only be described as 'death glares' at their boss.

Aaron Hotchner had seen a lot in his lifetime. Not just at the BAU, but also during his time with SWAT and the security detail. But never before in his entire existence, had he ever feared for his life as much as he did in this moment. He half expected Derek to pull a gun on him at any minute.

"We could never hate you. You're part of our family." Garcia told the female profiler, shifting her gaze back to her.

"I know that now. But at the time I was tired and stressed from the meeting with Strauss. And you know how I've told you in the past that your status updates always make me smile. So when I saw you'd updated it, I thought it would cheer me up. But instead when I saw the pictures of you all smiling and having fun together… I don't know. I got all emotional and I just thought you all hated me. I'm sorry, I actually feel really terrible about thinking that way now."

Hotch's guilt increased. He didn't go on social media himself, so he hadn't been aware that Garcia had shared any images online. He felt awful, thinking of how upset Emily must have been when she saw them all having fun, figuring that they had deliberately excluded her from the gathering. His heart dropped in his chest at the thought.

"Trust me, _you_ have nothing to feel terrible about, Princess." Morgan told her, although his angry focus, didn't move from his boss.

"He's right." JJ tried to assure her. "I probably would have thought exactly the same thing."

"Why didn't you invite her?" Hotch wasn't at all surprised that he had been asked that question. What did surprise him, was that the inquiry came from Spencer Reid.

"I… There was a miscommunication of sorts." He tried to explain. "Look it was completely my fault and I feel terrible. Emily, I'm sorry. It was never intentional, but I take full responsibility for upsetting you that evening." _As well as many other evenings_. He added, in his head.

"You take full responsibility?" Morgan questioned, still looking disgusted at his supervisor. "Well, that's mighty good of you, Hotch."

"I realise that you're all incredibly frustrated with me right now, and you have every right to be. But we have to start the brief on this case. They've had four bodies in the space of a week and they need us in Miami."

"I don't care about…" Morgan began to argue, before another voice cut him off.

"Hotch is right." Emily spoke out.

"But…" Derek tried once more to voice his opinion, but again she stopped him.

"Look I really appreciate what you're all trying to do for me, believe me I really do. But we have a case to work and Hotch has apologised, more than once now in fact. What more do you want him to do? Look, I love that you're all looking out for me and I get why you're angry. Trust me, I'm angry too. But I just want to put the whole thing behind me and move on. And from the sound of things, we're needed pretty desperately in Miami."

Hotch offered Emily a nod as a 'thank you', as the team got settled and allowed him to begin briefing them on the case. A part of him hated the fact that, after everything he had put her through, she was still willing to defend him. She really was something amazing.

Once he had explained the situation in Florida, he watched as the team swiftly filtered out of the room to prepare their things for take off, all except one of them.

"Dave, we really need to get ready to leave, we have a case."

"The case can wait, Aaron."

"Four bodies in one week and you're saying this case can wait?"

"Damn right, it can wait. You're lucky it's not your murder we're working on right now." The older agent spat, angrily. "Why didn't you invite her?"

"I didn't know I was supposed to." He answered honestly.

Dave shot him a confused glare. "What are you talking about? I asked you invite her along and you said 'okay'."

"If you asked me to do that when I think you did, then I wasn't paying attention. I was trying to work."

"But…" The older profiler stared at his friend incredulously. "I even messaged you about it the next day. I still have the messages on my cell. You can read them if you like. You said you'd sort it."

"I thought you were talking about me apologising to her for the whole shirt situation. I swear to you, Dave, if I'd have known that I was supposed to invite her, I would have. I never would have intentionally excluded her. You have to believe that, surely?"

"I do, Aaron." He assured him. "But that doesn't change the fact that your actions hurt her. I could tell something was up with her on Monday morning when I spoke with her. Now her behaviour makes sense. She probably thought it was my fault at first that she wasn't invited. Do you realise how she must have felt, thinking that the entire team wanted to meet up outside of work without her? Accident or not, _you_ hurt her."

"You don't know the half of it." Hotch allowed the words to escape his lips, before he'd even realised he was thinking it.

"What do you mean?"

The Unit Chief let out a long sigh, before he began explaining everything to David Rossi. He told him about the times he'd asked her to change her clothes and the times he'd scolded her for flirting with other police officers. Hotch informed the other male of the McKenzie Bourne case and how terribly he had treated Emily afterwards. He mentioned how he couldn't recall a single time he'd asked her if she was alright and while she'd always had the rest of the team for support, he himself hadn't shown any duty of care towards her, since the second she joined the team. He explained how he'd never even noticed that he didn't give her direct orders and told him of all the times he'd managed to wipe the smile off her face, with a simple glare.

The expression on Rossi's face grew more and more shocked as his friend's explanation went on. After Hotch had finished speaking, it took Rossi a moment to form a sentence. "But… why? I mean… Why would you treat her that way?"

"You know why." Aaron stated, shamefully holding his head in his hands. "You figured it out on your first day back here, up in my office."

"You treated her like shit because you're into her? I'm sorry, but have I missed the part where we're all suddenly back in kindergarten? What sort of playground mentality is that? Bullying the girl you have a crush on, rather than just telling her that you like her. And yes, I said bullying, Aaron. Because that's exactly what it is."

"I know. I know how wrong it was, Dave. Trust me, you don't have to explain to me how much I have fucked up. But try to understand, I was married to Haley and I couldn't get Emily out of my head. I had to distance myself from her."

"And do you seriously think that excuses your behaviour?"

"No, of course not. Not for one second. I'm not trying to make excuses."

"Well it certainly sounds like you are." The older Agent spat. "Anything else I should know, or is that it?"

Hotch noticeably gulped at the question. An action that didn't go unmissed by the other profiler.

"What? What else have you done?" He questioned impatiently.

"Well, she broke down in my office on Monday night when everybody else had gone home. Started crying and basically called me out on everything I'd done over the past ten months and…"

"Please tell me you didn't yell at her for it." Dave interrupted.

"No, I agreed with her about everything and then…" He paused, unsure of how Dave was going to react when he made this final confession.

"And then what?"

"I kissed her."

"You what?"

"I kissed her." He repeated, still a little in shock with himself over what he had done.

The room went silent for a short moment, until Dave finally found his voice. "And what did she do?"

"What do you think she did? She pushed me off of her, screamed at me, told me I was insane to think I had a chance with her and then ran away."

"Jesus, Aaron."

"I know."

"Do you though? Because you could lose your job over that kiss. The fraternisation rules can easily be bent. If you and Emily were ever to start up a relationship, I know that there are ways around the protocol and with a team that closes as many cases as ours, we could find a way to make it work. It wouldn't be overly simple, but it's doable. But what you did… If she decides to report you, Aaron, there's no saving your job. You realise that don't you? In the eyes of the Bureau it's sexual harassment. Hell, in my eyes it's sexual harassment. Can you imagine how Erin will spin it? Unit Chief forces himself on his crying female subordinate. She'll have a field day if this gets back to her."

Aaron Hotchner was stunned to silence by the other man's revelation. He hadn't even thought about that. Sure, he'd considered the possibility that Emily may report his actions, but his main concern had been on trying to make things up to the female he had hurt so badly. He hadn't stopped to consider for a second the ramifications that his recent behaviour could have on his own career.

"You didn't think about that did you?"

"I can't think about that right now, Dave. The only thing I'm concerned with at the moment is making things right with Emily. If she decides to report my behaviour, I will face the consequences, whatever they may be. But I don't believe she will."

"You couldn't blame her though, if she does decide to."

"I know and I won't."

There was a long pause before Dave spoke again. "Okay, I think it's insane, but to the tiniest extent, I can understand why you treated her the way you did. That is in no way me condoning your behaviour, simply stating that in the smallest possible way I can understand why you did it. But what I can't get my head around, is what possessed you to think kissing her was a good idea. I mean seriously, Aaron. What were you thinking?"

"That's the problem, Dave. I wasn't thinking. I stopped thinking for five seconds and let my emotions take control." Hotch tried to explain. "I'm not trying to make excuses, but this is exactly why I was so cold towards Emily. I went about it in completely the wrong way, but I stand by my decision to distance myself from her. The fact that I kissed her just proves to me that I can't trust myself around her. But I have to learn to, because I can't keep on hurting her. I don't know what's wrong with me. But all rational thoughts leave the building when I'm close to her."

"You're serious aren't you?" Rossi questioned, staring incredulously at the man before him. "You really want to sleep with her that much?"

"What? No! I don't want to sleep with her, Dave! I'm in love with her!"

Both men's eyes popped from their sockets at the unexpected confession. "You're in love with her?"

"No… Yes… Maybe… No… I don't know." Hotch stuttered out, completely confused by his own thought process. "No, I'm not in love with her. I didn't mean to say that. I don't know where that came from. I just meant that I don't just want her for sex, like you implied. I care about her a lot more than that."

"You have a funny way of showing it."

"Believe me, I know."

Dave let out a long sigh. "You realise, there's probably more chance of me making up with and re-marrying all three of my ex-wives than there is of you having a shot at a romantic relationship with Emily Prentiss, don't you?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I know that it's never going to happen. I don't care about that. I just want to begin to make up for what I've put her through."

"She may never forgive you."

"I know. But I have to try."


	14. Chapter 14

It was six weeks to the day since Emily had confronted Hotch in his office.

Every single work day, of those six weeks, Hotch had made Emily Prentiss a cup of coffee in the morning and occasionally bought her an extra one when they were out working a case.

After the first day when Emily had initially thanked him, neither agent had spoken a word to each other about the gesture. It had easily become a part of Hotch's daily routine. He no longer even considered it as a way of apologising to the female profiler, it was simply something he wanted to do.

Things were staring to normalise between them. The rest of the team had finally forgiven Hotch for his mistake with regards to Dave's meal. Well most of them anyway. Derek Morgan had been off with him. Hotch had noticed how the dark skinned agent had become overly flirtatious with Emily since he had found out about the team meal incident. At first Hotch had assumed that was just Derek's way of cheering Emily up and making her feel good about herself and wanted as part of the team. However as the weeks went on Hotch started to notice how Morgan would cast glance's in his direction when he flirted. It was almost as if he was doing it for Hotch's benefit. Was it possible that Derek Morgan had figured out that he was attracted to the female agent? It wasn't a ridiculous idea. For all he knew, Prentiss may have told him and even if she hadn't, Derek was a great profiler after all and Hotch knew he himself had spent a large portion of the last six weeks staring at Emily Prentiss. So was Derek not only flirting to cheer Emily up, but also to piss Hotch off? Was this his way of making Hotch pay for his mistakes?

Maybe.

Emily Prentiss felt that herself and Hotch had started to settle into their appropriate roles of 'subordinate' and 'boss'. They didn't make any effort to speak to each other about anything none work related, but when they did work together things were professional.

It had taken Emily a couple of weeks to break out of the habit of second guessing her wardrobe choices or watching her actions around other police officers. Derek Morgan in particular, she had noticed, had become more flirtatious than ever with her in recent weeks. But on occasions when their boss had witnessed their encounters, he hadn't said a word.

Now, six weeks on from their confrontation, Emily was in a good place. She had in no way forgotten what Hotch had put her through, but she no longer dreaded coming into work and she finally felt like she had a place where she belonged.

As she approached her desk that morning, Emily almost felt herself sadden at the fact there wasn't a cup of coffee waiting for her. She cast a glance up in the direction of Hotch's office, noting that the light was on, so he must have been in the bureau somewhere. She immediately cursed herself for the feeling. Did she seriously expect that Hotch was just going to continue making coffee for her, every day for the rest of her life?

She was dragged away from her inner scolding by the sound of a throat clearing behind her. Spinning around, she came face to face with Aaron Hotchner holding a cup of coffee in each hand.

"Sorry." The male apologised, stepping past his subordinate to place one mug down on her desk. "I was late in this morning. I only just beat you here by the look of things, so I didn't have this ready for you."

"Oh, that's alright, Sir." Emily assured him. "You really don't have to keep doing this, you know. Making me coffee."

"I know." Hotch sighed and Emily could see the pain in his features. "I want to." There was another pause before he spoke again. "Unless I'm making you feel uncomfortable. If my actions _are_ making you feel uncomfortable, please say and I'll stop."

"No, Sir." She answered honestly. "Truly, I don't mind. I just don't want you to feel like you have to do it. I get it, you're sorry. Honestly, Sir, you can stop now if you want."

"It's no trouble, really. Especially as I'm making one for myself anyway."

The female profiler nodded, lifting the drink from her desk and taking a small sip of the hot liquid. "Alright then. Thank you, Sir."

"Prentiss, you don't have to call me 'Sir' all the time."

There was a moment's silence before Emily responded. "You're my supervisor and a senior agent. It's the most appropriate way to address you."

"I understand that, but you could call me 'Hotch' every once in a while if you wanted to." He watched as she thought it over and gave him a nod in response. "Or even 'Aaron'."

"I don't think so, Sir." Emily shot him a wary glance. "Look, I get that you've apologised and you've changed. But I can't just erase from my mind, my first ten months working for you. I'm not going to call you 'Aaron'. It's seems too… intimate. I think we've finally reached a place where we have a healthy working relationship, but we're not friends, Hotch. I'm sorry."

"No, please don't apologise. I understand." The male shook his head at the stupidity of his suggestion.

The pair remained stood awkwardly for a short while, neither speaking until Hotch excused himself and headed up to his office, while Emily sat down and began working.

Neither one of them noticed that the blonde media liaison had entered the bullpen and overheard the last part of their conversation.


	15. Chapter 15

Jennifer Jareau slowly headed towards her friend's desk, fully intending to find out what had happened between the female profiler and her boss, but unsure of how to approach the subject.

"Hey." She greeted, coming to a halt beside the other woman's desk.

"Morning Jayje." Emily smiled up at her blonde colleague. "What are you doing here so early?"

JJ rolled her eyes. "I'm falling behind on all the files that are being filtered through my office. You should see it. I mean, I will gladly admit that I have the messiest office in the bureau, but it's really bad in there now, even by my standards."

"Need some help with anything?" Emily offered without hesitation.

"You have enough to do as it is." JJ smiled warmly at the brunette, her gaze flickering around at the paperwork spread out across her friend's desk.

"JJ please, let me help you."

That was Emily Prentiss down to a tee. She always put everyone else's needs before her own. It wasn't the first time she had volunteered to help JJ when she was struggling.

The blonde thought about it and decided it might actually be a good idea. While she didn't really want to drag her colleague away from her own workload, she did want to talk to her away from the prying eyes of their boss.

"Okay. If you're sure you don't mind." The communications liaison beamed at her friend. "I could use a little help."

The pair had been working away in JJ's office for a short while before the blonde questioned Emily on the conversation she had witnessed.

Emily tried to brush it off at first saying everything was fine, but JJ wasn't going to let it go so easily.

"I believe you said something like, 'I get that you've apologised but I can't just erase from my mind my first ten months working for you.' And something along the lines of 'we've finally reached a place where we have a healthy working relationship, but we're not friends'" JJ revealed what she had overheard of the conversation. "I know the two of you have never been close, but what happened, Em?"

The brunette female let out a long sigh. She knew that her friends and colleagues meant well and that they were only looking out for her, and she loved them for that, she really did. But she was finally reaching a place in her head where she was beginning to put the whole thing behind her and try to move on.

"Look, I know I've known Hotch for longer, but Emily you're just as important to us as he is and if you tell us that he's treating you unfairly none of us would hesitate to tear him a new asshole."

Emily chuckled at that. "He's not treating me unfairly. Not anymore at least anyway."

"But he was?"

Another sigh escaped the profiler, before she began explaining most of what had happened with her boss. She left out any details of the McKenzie Bourne case, knowing that JJ needed to be reminded about that god awful case, just as must as she herself did.

"But I don't understand." The blonde agent gaped incredulously. "Why would he treat you like that? It doesn't make sense. I've known Hotch for years. He's not that kind of person. Or at least I didn't think he was."

Emily took in a deep breath. She considered lying to her friend and saying she didn't know either, before deciding she wanted to tell her the truth. "Please don't say anything about this to anyone else. I don't even know for sure if it's true or not, but he claims it's because he's attracted to me."

"What?"

"He says that he was a married man having… inappropriate thoughts about me, so he tried to distance himself from me and he ended up turning into the world's biggest jackass in the process."

"Wow. That's crazy. I mean, crazy that he would treat you like that. Not crazy that he would be attracted to you. Of course he would be. I mean, look at you. You're gorgeous."

Emily laughed at her friend's ramble. "Jesus, JJ, not you too. Between Morgan's recent shameless flirting and Hotch's… unexpected feelings, I don't know if I could handle the attention from you too."

The communications liaison chuckled, rolling her eyes. "It will be difficult but I shall try to fight my feelings for you." She joked. "But, you don't believe he's attracted to you?"

"I don't know. I didn't, but then he kissed me and…"

"Hotch kissed you?" JJ's jaw dropped in shock. "When?"

"Six weeks ago, when I called him out on how he'd been treating me. He told me it was because he was attracted to me. I said I didn't believe him and then he just kissed me."

"Oh my god, what did you do?"

"I pushed him away and then ran."

"I can't believe after everything, he would just kiss you like that." The blonde said, with an incredulous look.

"I couldn't believe it either."

"Are you going to report him?"

"No. Believe me I've considered it, but I can't do that to the team. And despite everything he's done, I honestly don't want to risk putting an end his career over one stupid kiss. In all honesty, the kiss hasn't really bothered me at all." It was true. Emily had been hurt by Aaron Hotchner in many ways over her first ten months with the unit, and while the kiss had angered her when he did it, in the grand scheme of things it wasn't something that had really affected her. It was his behaviour going back up to ten months prior to the kiss that she was struggling to forgive him for. "He was going through a divorce, JJ and he'd been drinking. I don't know how much, but I could taste it on him when he kissed me."

"Are saying that's a good enough excuse?"

"No, of course not. I know that on paper it is technically sexual harassment, but I also know when he did it he wasn't trying to take advantage of me. I do believe him when he says he intended it as some sort of warped apology. He knows he was in the wrong. Haven't you ever done anything stupid that you deeply regret when you're emotional and you've been drinking?"

"Yes, of course I have, but…"

"He's trying to make amends and in fairness to him, he seems genuinely sorry. I know it doesn't excuse his behaviour for one second, but he's changing. I'm not saying I'm just going to forgive him or that I suddenly want to be his friend or anything, but he's making an effort and that has to count for something, surely?"

"I guess."

Emily frowned at the fact it seemed so easy to defend the actions of a man that had made her life miserable for so long. "Am I being incredibly weak?"

"What do you mean?" The media liaison's eyebrows furrowed at the question.

"Does it seem weak to you that I'm defending him? That I'm just wanting to put the whole thing behind me and move on with him professionally? Should I be making his life more difficult right now, trying to make him pay for his mistakes?"

"As long as he's not continuing to hurt you, then no, it doesn't make you weak to want to move on and forgive him, if he's genuinely as sorry as you seem to think he is. The fact that you don't want to go on some sort of revenge mission and deliberately set out to hurt him in return, if anything, only proves what an amazing person you are. It doesn't make you weak in my eyes." JJ smiled reassuringly at her friend, before grinning mischievously. "But, I do have an idea, if you did want to do a little something. Not so much for revenge or to make his life more difficult, more so for fun, as well as a way to find out for sure one way or another whether he really is attracted to you or not."

"I don't think I like the sound of this. You're starting to sound far too much like Penelope Garcia for my liking." Emily chuckled.

JJ smirked as she quickly explained her plan, watching as Emily's eyes widened at her idea, finishing by saying. "Come on, it will be funny."

"I don't know if I can do that." The brunette shock her head. "What if he gets angry and asks me to change again?"

"Well I'll be right there, standing by." The blonde answered. "Did you miss the part before were I said I'd tear him a new asshole if he treats you badly? I wasn't joking about that."

The profiler laughed loudly. "I tell you what, I'll think about it and get back to you."

"You do that, Emily Prentiss."

The female agents shared one final smile, before returning their attention to the work in front of them.


	16. Chapter 16

Emily held the light bit of black fabric in her hands, grinning naughtily at the idea JJ had mentioned to her a few weeks prior. She was already wearing a black bra that pushed her 'girls' up perfectly. She'd never worn this bra to work before, it was reserved for her rare nights out. Throwing caution to the wind, the brunette pulled the garment over her head and stretched it down around her chest and belly. She eyed herself in the mirror, smiling at the reflection she saw. If Aaron Hotchner really was attracted to her, she was going to find out for sure today.

Was it fair to him to flaunt herself in front of him, when she had no intentions of pursuing anything, even if he was interested? No, probably not. But hey, he'd made her feel like shit for ten months. One day of making him squirm was the least she deserved.

The profiler threw on and buttoned up her jacket, before heading out to work. When she arrived in the bullpen, Emily plopped down at her desk, deciding to keep her coat on for the time being. She was a little earlier than usual. As always Hotch was already up in his office working away. She glanced up and took in the look of concentration on his face as he glared at the papers on his desk. She smiled looking away, as she gripped the hot cup of coffee on her desk and took a long sip, moaning in appreciation at the taste. She reached for a file, pausing as she felt herself being watched. Her eyes shot up to meet his intense stare and she offered him a 'thank you' nod, gesturing towards the coffee.

Aaron Hotchner nodded in return, inwardly cheering at the thought that things seemed to be getting a lot better between them. He knew there was still a long way to go before he fully earned her forgiveness, but for the time being, he was just happy that things seemed to be going in the right direction.

As she continued to stare up at him, Aaron offered her a small smile, relishing in the fact that this was quite possibly the longest she had held eye contact with him since, well, since forever. He gestured for her to come up to his office and without hesitation, she complied.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Prentiss questioned, stepping inside the small room and shutting the door behind her.

"You're here earlier than usual this morning." He stated, offering her a slightly concerned look. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." She answered, honestly. "I just woke up early this morning."

"You're sure?" Hotch asked for assurance.

"Yeah, honestly I'm okay." She confirmed, watching as the concern lifted from his features.

"Okay, that's good."

Emily eyed him cautiously, before deciding to take advantage of the opportunity that had been presented to her. She knew she was supposed to wait for JJ as back up, but suddenly she was feeling brave. "It's really warm in here, Sir. Aren't you too hot?"

"No, I'm okay." The unit chief responded, casting his gaze up and down her figure. Was she wearing jeans? He hadn't noticed her come into the bullpen earlier and by the time he had spotted her she was already sat down, with her legs hidden beneath the privacy of her desk. Now though, stood before him in his office, he could fully appreciate the sight of Emily's gorgeous legs packed into a pair of tight, dark blue jeans. He licked his lips, before dragging his mind from the gutter and returning his eyes to hers. "You're still wearing your coat."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot." She rolled her eyes at her actions. "No wonder I'm hot."

With that said the female agent began to undo the buttons of her jacket, before opening it fully and letting the garment slide from her shoulders, catching it with her right hand before it had chance to hit the floor.

SSA Aaron Hotchner noticeably gulped as his gaze instantly fell on her chest. As if the tight blue jeans weren't temptation enough, it took every single bit of will power he had to stop himself from throwing her over his desk and having his way with her there and then at the sight of the skin tight black shirt that encased Emily's upper body. Her plump breasts looked delicious, pushed up and partly on show out of the top of the black fabric, as the round neckline dipped low on her chest.

He knew she was watching him and would most likely be angry. He knew he should look away, but he didn't. He couldn't. She already knew he was attracted to her, so what did it really matter, if she caught him staring? She had to know how delectable she looked at that moment. He dragged his stare down her body, almost drooling at the way the dark fabric of her jeans hugged her hips perfectly showing off her amazing figure. His search moved upwards slowly appreciating the view before him of Emily Prentiss in dark blue, skin tight jeans and a long sleeved, black, skin tight shirt that showed off the just the right amount of cleavage. She was doing this to him on purpose, she had to be.

With that thought, his gaze finally found hers, expecting to be greeted with anger, he was surprised at the huge smirk she had plastered across her porcelain face. "Is there a problem, sir?"

 _Is there a problem? Yes, there's a problem. A problem under the desk that's growing bigger every second._ "No, no problem." He somehow managed to let out.

"Are you sure?" the smirking brunette tilted her head to the side questioningly. "You look flushed? Are you sure you're not too hot?"

 _Well I am now._ "No, I'm fine."

"Okay, well I'll get back to work then, unless there's anything else you want from me, sir?"

 _Oh, there's a lot I want from you right now._ "No, I just wanted to check that you were alright."

"I'm fine." She assured him

 _Indeed, you are._

She nodded her head as a goodbye, before turning and exiting the room. His stare followed her all the way out of his office, down the stairs and back to her desk. He couldn't tear his gaze away even as she began working on the paperwork in front of her, sipping at her coffee every now and then. He imagined he was coming across as some sort of creepy stalker, but despite that revelation, he remained unable to shift his eyes away from her.

Emily Prentiss smiled as she scribbled down some notes on the paper before her, thinking of what had gone down in her boss' office, just moments earlier. She risked a glance up at him, smirking again at the fact his darkened gaze was sill fixated on her.

 _So maybe he really is attracted to me, after all._ The female profiler thought to herself. She supposed that, while it didn't excuse his behaviour for one second, it did in some way make sense that he would have tried to distance himself from her. And while she didn't now, nor would she ever, agree with the way he treated her, to some extent, she could understand his reasoning.

JJ was right, that had been kind of fun. The brunette was in two minds. A part of her felt guilty for flaunting herself in front of a man who was clearly attracted to her. Another part of her felt he deserved every bit of misery she could cause him after the way he had behaved. Although they contradicted each other, Emily could understand both of the feelings inside her. They made sense.

But there was something that made no sense whatsoever to the female profiler, though. The one thing she failed to understand now was, as he had just been looking at her like he wanted to have his way with her there and then, after everything he had done to her, behind her more rational feelings, why did the tiniest part of her want to let him?


	17. Chapter 17

Things had improved vastly between Agents Hotchner and Prentiss since Emily had taken on JJ's advice and confirmed her boss' attraction to her.

A couple of months had passed since that day and the spirits in the BAU were high throughout the entire team. After a whole lot of begging from Penelope Garcia, Agent David Rossi had agreed to arrange another team meal at his house in the near future.

The old profiler had approached Emily asking her to choose a date she was free first before asking anybody else and the female agent had assured him that providing they weren't away on a case, she would be available any night and promised that she wouldn't miss the gathering for anything.

Rossi left her to her paperwork, assuring her that he would get back to her with the arrangements after he had checked in with the rest of the team.

The brunette female returned her attention to her work, occasionally casting glances up in the direction of her supervisor's office. Something was different with him, she could tell.

It was the little differences she was noticing. She had found her usual cup of coffee on her desk that morning when she had entered, that was no different. However when she had looked up to his office and their eyes had locked, his response surprised her.

Ever since that day she had confronted Hotch, although he had been cautious around her, he had always been trying to show her he was changing. He would offer her a smile every time their eyes met, however this morning his eyebrows had furrowed and he swiftly turned away from her stare.

She had frowned a little, but tried not to think too much into it. Everybody had their bad days after all and Hotch had made every effort to show her that he had changed over the previous four and a half months, so she wasn't about to just assume he was reverting back to his old ways because of one simple cold glance.

But it hadn't been just once glance.

For the remainder of the morning every time Emily had gazed up and met his stare, he had instantly looked away from her.

After returning from her lunch break, the female profiler dropped off some files in his office, trying to make small talk as the pair had often found themselves doing in recent weeks. But he brushed her off. Even when she had questioned him on Jack, a subject that always got him talking, he had responded with a simple 'he's fine', his glare not lifting from the work before him.

"Hotch?" Emily called for his attention. "Is everything okay?"

Aaron let out a sigh, before reluctantly lifting his gaze from his paperwork to meet his female subordinate's concerned stare.

"Have I done something to upset you?" She questioned nervously, taken back by her boss' saddened features.

"No. Well, maybe. I don't know." He stuttered out, frowning at his own thought process. "I'm sorry, Prentiss. I'm behaving like child. Please don't worry about it. I apologise if I have seemed off with you today."

"Sir, if I have done something to offend you, I'd really appreciate it if you tell me."

There was a short silent pause, before Hotch spoke. "Was that comment you made to Morgan yesterday directed at me?"

Emily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She couldn't remember talking much to Derek Morgan the previous day. They had been working a case locally in Virginia and had been pretty busy. From what little amount of time she had spent conversing with the other agent, she couldn't remember saying anything off the top her head that would have upset the Unit Chief.

"It's understandable if it was and I won't hold it against you. It's the least I deserve. I'm just curious if it was in fact directed at me or if I'm reading into it wrong?"

"Honestly, Sir, I have no recollection of what comment you're talking about. But I can assure you I haven't tried to say anything to intentionally offend you." Emily attempted to convince him. "What did I say?"

"Do you recall what you said after Morgan had informed you that the Unsub may potentially try to kiss you?"

Hotch watched as Prentiss racked her brain trying to think back to the events of the previous day. He himself had the scene clear in his mind.

* * *

 _The team had tracked down the Unsub and had found themselves in a situation where it was necessary to send one of them in undercover._

 _As Agent Emily Prentiss had been a dead ringer for the serial killer's victims, it had been her who had the wonderful job of going in and flirting with the bastard as a distraction, while the rest of the team got into position and cleared as much of the busy room as possible._

 _Hotch didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. But he had to prove, both to Emily and himself, that he was able to control his emotions and behave professionally in situations like this one. Prentiss was the right option and he trusted her ability in the field, but that didn't stop the little voice in the back of his head that was screaming at him to keep her out of harm's way and far away from that creep._

 _Despite his inner reluctance, he agreed to the plan Rossi and Morgan had suggested._

 _The three male agents were giving Emily tips and advice, as well as reminding her of important pieces of the profile. Emily in return was rolling her eyes and biting her lip, most likely in an attempt to stop herself from screaming 'Not my first show, boys'._

" _This guy is so far from shy. He might try to kiss you." Morgan told her. "Are you going to be okay with that, Prentiss?"_

 _The female agent glanced around from Morgan to Rossi and finally to Hotch, as they all waited for her response. "Guys, I'll be fine. Truthfully, I've been kissed by a lot worse than our Unsub."_

 _With that said she moved away from the group, heading towards the changing room to get ready and, in doing so, missed the way her boss' face dropped at her comment._

* * *

"Oh god, Hotch, no. No, of course not." Emily rushed to assure him. "That was never intended to be a dig at you. I'm not saying the kiss we shared was particularly welcomed on my end, but I would never stoop so low as to call you worse than a sociopathic, opportunistic rapist and serial killer."

"No, of course you wouldn't." Aaron cursed himself for reading too much into her statement. "I'm sorry."

"Is that really what's had you in a funk all morning?"

"I told you, I've been behaving incredibly childish." The Unit Chief sighed and nodded. "Forgive me, Emily."

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it. I didn't even think about how you might have interpreted it."

"You shouldn't have to watch your words around me. If not for my past actions then I wouldn't have to worry about misinterpreting a comment like that. The fault is mine, Emily. Please don't try to blame yourself."

"Okay." Emily offered her boss a warm smile, deciding it would be best to simply move on from the subject. "So did you here that Dave is throwing another dinner at his place?"

"I did." Hotch confirmed. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Would you feel more comfortable if I didn't attend?"

"What? No." She shot him an incredulous look. "Hotch, I'd like to think that we're moving in the right direction. We're getting along aren't we? I thought we were anyway."

"We are, but that doesn't erase the past."

"I know, trust me. I want us to have a healthy working relationship and I feel like we do now, but I haven't forgotten the way you treated me. The past still enters my mind." She told him. "But this is a team meal. You're part of that team, I was excluded last time, you tell me that it was an accident and I believe you. I really do. So why would you think I would intentionally want to exclude you from this one? I'm not that type of person, Sir."

"I know you're not. You would never ask it of me and that is precisely why I offered." He assured her. "A cup of coffee every day and the fact that I have now started to treat you like a human being shouldn't be enough for me to earn your forgiveness. There's a part of me that wishes you would lash out at me, try harder to make me pay for the way I treated you. Why don't you want to make me suffer?"

"It's not who I am, Sir." The female answered honestly. "You're right it may not be enough for most and you can call me spineless if you like, but all I ever wanted was to be accepted as a part of this team and to come to work feeling wanted and appreciated. I have that now. Of course I haven't forgotten what you put me through, but I'm happy the way things are now. What good would it do for me to try and cause friction because of your past actions now, when it's clear to me that you're sorry and you've changed? Sure, if you ever reverted back to your old ways, it would be a completely different story this time. But to lash out at you now, when the entire team, including myself, is in a good place… There's just no point to it, Hotch. Surely you can understand that?"

"Of course." The Unit Chief sighed. "But as much as I want it, I just don't feel I deserve your forgiveness. I want to do so much more to make it up to you, but I don't know what I can do."

Emily offered up her own sigh. "You're your own worst enemy, you know that right? From the look of things, you're punishing yourself enough. You don't need any help from me." With that said the brunette agent made her way to the door, turning back to him before she exited. "Come to the meal, Hotch. If you don't attend because of me, all it will achieve is that it will make me feel bad."

Hotch nodded, his gaze following the amazing woman as she made her way back to her desk without another glance in his direction.


	18. Chapter 18

Later that week...

"Where the hell is he?"

Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid all had their attention pulled from their paperwork, by the sound of the angry woman who had entered the bullpen.

The three agents looked over to find their boss' ex-wife stood before them, clutching her two and a half year old son's hand.

"Mrs Hotchner, is everything okay?" Morgan questioned, being the first to step up from his desk and approach the angry female.

"It's Ms Brookes now, and no everything is not okay." She responded, trying to keep her voice calm for the benefit of her son, but the profilers could hear the underlying rage in her words. "Aaron was supposed to pick up his son forty five minutes ago. He's not answering his cell phone and I have somewhere I need to be. Where is he?"

"He's in a meeting with the Section Chief and the Director, one that's running late by the look of things." Derek explained. "They'll have made him turn off his cell. I can't imagine he'll be too much longer."

A small growl fell from the blonde lady's lips. "But if we don't leave now, we're going to lose our reservation. God, why does he have to do this? He knew I had plans tonight. It's bad enough that Michael had to drive me all the way out here but now I'm going to have to cancel our date because of Aaron. God, we're not even married anymore and his job is still affecting my life. Come on, Jack, we're going home."

"Daddy?" The little boy asked, glancing up at his mother.

Haley began to pull her son along towards the exit. "Sorry buddy, your Daddy is working. You'll have to stay with Mommy and Michael tonight. Maybe you can see Daddy tomorrow."

"Daddy." Jack whined out, pulling away from his mother's grip, as his eyes began to tear up. "Daddy."

"Jack, come on, please." Haley pleaded with her son.

Emily's heart dropped at the sight of the teary eyed toddler, crying for his father. Before she'd really thought it through, the female profiler shot up from her desk and cautiously approached the pair. "Haley."

The dressed up blonde spun to face the brunette.

"Let us watch Jack for you. The three of us have lots of paperwork to do, so none of us are going to be leaving anytime soon. We can look after him until Hotch gets out of the meeting, which I'm sure will be any minute anyway."

Haley seemed to think it over for a short while, eyeing the brunette almost suspiciously. "I don't know."

"Come on, it's a win win win for all three of you. Hotch gets to see his son, Jack gets to see his Dad and you don't have to cancel your date. We'll take good care of him, I promise."

The blonde glanced down at her crying son and her heart broke. As much as a small part of her wanted to keep Jack away from his father, just to punish her ex-husband, she couldn't actually do that to her son. She knew that the other woman was right, this was the best solution for all of them. "You're sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not." Prentiss responded immediately.

Haley then looked to both Derek and Spencer, who in return offered her reassuring smiles and nods. She next crouched down in front of the small boy. "Jack, Mommy really has to go now okay, but you're going to stay here with Agents Morgan, Reid and… I'm sorry I don't remember…"

"Prentiss." She smiled at the blonde, before coming down to Jack's level. "You, young man, can call me Emily."

"Emmy." The little boy spoke in an effort to say her name. "Daddy?"

"Your Daddy is going to be down here to see you really really soon okay." Emily told him. "But until then would you like to come and draw some pictures with me?"

"Picture." The toddler beamed happily, before holding his arms out to the brunette.

Emily looked to Haley for approval before lifting the child into her arms and carrying him over to her desk. She set him down on her chair and quickly made sure to hide any of the files containing crime scene pictures away in a drawer, before grabbing a stack of paper out of the printer and putting it down in front of the boy.

Haley glanced at her cell phone, before dropping Jack's overnight bag down by Emily's desk. "I have to go if we're going to make our reservation. Thank you so much for this." She swiftly grabbed a pen from the desk and scribbled her cell number down, before handing it to Emily, in case of an emergency. She then gave Jack a big hug and kiss goodbye, before rushing out of the bullpen.

Emily pulled up a second chair next to the little boy, a chair from one of the other agents desks, the lucky ones who got to leave on time on a Friday evening. To begin with Jack was quite happy scribbling away on a piece of paper with the three different coloured ballpoint pens Emily had on her desk.

But it didn't take long until the toddler decided that red, blue and black were simply not good enough alone to draw the picture he wanted.

"Green?"

"Oh, I'm sorry buddy I don't have a green pen."

"Green." He said again, whinging slightly. "Greeeeeen."

"Jack, I'm sorry, but I don't…"

"Green!" The little boy cut her off, tugging lightly on the bottom of the green shirt she was wearing.

"I think Garcia has some highlighters down in her lair. She's gone home already, but I'll go see what I can find." Morgan offered, jumping up from his workspace and swiftly pacing away.

He returned moments later, to the delight of the small child, carrying lots of different coloured highlighters, including a green one.

Thirty minutes passed and Hotch still hadn't come out of his meeting and Jack was beginning to get restless. He'd already gotten through quite a few pieces of paper and had decided that he was now bored of drawing pictures.

"Hungry." The toddler spoke, pulling gently at Emily's arm.

"Are you hungry, buddy?"

"Food." Jack spoke in response, grinning at the female agent.

"Let's see what we can find." Emily quickly pushed the candy bar she had to the back of her drawer deciding that her boss probably wouldn't appreciate her sending his son home on a sugar rush, before pulling out the banana and potato chips she hadn't eaten on her lunch break. "Okay what will it be, Jack? Banana or chips?"

The little boy answered by clambering off his own seat and holding his arms up. Without hesitation Emily scooped the cute toddler into her arms and settled him down on her lap, chuckling softly as he reached for both snacks.

"You want both?"

He nodded, offering Emily what she assumed was his signature 'let me have anything I want' smile, complete with dimples. "Please."

"Oh, honey, how could anybody ever say no to this face? You, young man, are going to be beating the girls off with a stick when you grow up."

"This." Jack spoke, holding up the packet of potato chips, not taking in what Emily had said. "Open."

Emily beamed at the adorable child, as she took the chips and opened them for him. He quickly stuffed a few in his mouth, before Emily told him to slow down. Jack placed the pack on the desk, glancing up at her, while struggling to chew his food as his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.

Once he had finished what was in his mouth, he reached for the chips again, holding them out to Emily. "Share."

If possible the profiler's grin grew, as she reached in and took a couple of chips for herself. "Thank you for sharing, Jack. You're a good boy."

It didn't take long for the pair to polish of the remaining potato chips. Jack ate the majority of them, occasionally offering the pack to Emily, with the word 'share'. Emily then peeled the skin off of the banana and handed it to the little boy, who was still sat relaxing on her lap.

Jack happily chomped away at the piece of fruit, wasting no time finishing it off.

"Thank you, Emmy." He announced happily, cuddling into the brunette's chest, once all of the food had been demolished.

* * *

Aaron Hotchner fled the meeting room quicker than he ever had in his life, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and turning it on.

Haley was going to kill him. He was supposed to have picked Jack up over an hour and a half ago. Why did they have to schedule a last minute meeting on a Friday afternoon? If it had have just been Strauss, he would have considered making his excuses and leaving earlier, but as the Director was in the meeting, he knew it would do him no good to get on his bad side.

He had a feeling that Haley would stop him from seeing Jack this evening. She had threatened to do it in the past when he had been running late and on this particular occasion, she had made a point of telling him that she had somewhere she needed to be and under absolutely no circumstances should he be late. It was almost as if Strauss had overheard that conversation and arranged the meeting accordingly. As his IPhone came back to life, multiple missed calls and messages pinged up on the screen, all from his ex-wife.

He tried to call her back a couple of times as he made his way through the building, but there was no answer.

Yep, he was in trouble and the chances of him being able to see his son tonight had just become nil in his mind.

With that thought in mind, the Unit Chief swiftly paced into the bullpen, stopping in his tracks as he witnessed the scene playing out before him.

His two and a half year old son was sat on his subordinate's knee sharing a packet of potato chips with her. He watched as the little boy giggled at something she said and offered her a chip. He continued to stare at the pair, as Emily peeled open a banana for him and witnessed Jack finish off the piece of fruit in record time.

The male profiler's mouth twitched up into a smile at the sight of his little boy cuddling into her chest, before Emily affectionately wrapped her arms around the child.

 _Emily Prentiss is going to make a wonderful mother one day._ He inwardly cursed himself for thinking that she would make a wonderful mother to his future children.

His thoughts along those lines came to a halt as the two year old spotted him watching them over Emily's shoulder.

"DADDY!" He screamed out in excitement, quickly scrambling off the female agent's lap and rushing over to his father.

Hotch scooped the little boy up into his arms, offering his son a grin. "Hey Buddy. What are you doing here?"

"Emmy!" Was his one word answer.

"Has Agent Prentiss been looking after you?" At the child's look of confusion, he asked. "Has Emily been watching you?"

"Yeah, Emmy."

Hotch glanced up from his cheery son to catch the nervous stare of his female subordinate. His expression dropped a little at the cautious look on her face. He knew why she was worried. Although she hadn't brought it up to him herself, he remembered how he had treated her the last time she had held his son. Once again an overwhelming wave of guilt washed over him.

With his son still in his arms, Hotch began to make his way towards her desk, smiling warmly at her in an attempt to ease her nervousness. "Thank you, Prentiss. I'm assuming you received a visit from a very angry Haley?"

"Yes, Sir." Prentiss offered her boss a smile. "She came in looking for you and she was… well she said she had somewhere she needed to be… and she couldn't be late for…"

"If you're attempting to hide the fact that Haley is going on a date tonight, then you needn't bother. I'm well aware that my ex-wife it moving on. I'm okay with it."

"Oh, well that's good, Sir."

"Daddy down." Jack tried to wriggle out of his father's grip as the little boy noticed that Reid had pulled out a pack of playing cards.

Morgan approached Hotch and Prentiss, as Jack scurried over to Spencer's desk. "She saved your ass tonight, man. Haley was seriously pissed and in the process of dragging Jack out of here with the promise that you wouldn't be seeing him tonight, when our princess here stepped in and offered to watch him."

Hotch stared in awe at the beautiful woman in front of him, amazed that she would do that for him. "Emily, thank you. I appreciate this a lot. I owe you."

"Oh really, Sir, it was no problem. He's been no trouble at all." Emily smiled softly. "He got hungry though and I let him have a banana and some chips. I hope that's okay."

"Of course. Thank you."

"Emmy!" Jack pulled the grown ups' attention to him as he shot back over to Emily's desk and gathered up all the pictures he had drawn, before holding one out to the female.

"Oh, is that for me?" Emily grinned at the little boy taking the paper from his hand. "It's awesome, thank you. I'm going to keep this right here, so I can see it every day." She told him, taping the picture to the board on her desk.

Jack beamed up at her and then ran back in the direction of Spencer's desk, to show him the other pictures he had drawn.

Hotch grinned from ear to ear at the sight of the picture on Emily's desk. "Do you know what that is?"

"No, I don't think it is anything in particular, but I love it anyway."

"It's you."

The female's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she stared down at the scribbles on the paper.

"Look, see this pointy black bit, that's your legs. This green highlighter square is your shirt. I'm pretty sure that this big red bit surrounded by the black firework looking things is meant to be your head. Looks like you're having a pretty bad hair day. Although, as he hasn't given you any eyes or arms, that's not surprising."

Emily continued to glance down at the picture, trying to see what Hotch could.

"Jack, what's this?" The man called to his son, pointing at the paper taped to Emily's desk.

"Picture!" The happy little toddler replied, beaming at his father, from his place on Reid's lap.

"And what is the picture? What did you draw?"

"Emmy."

"See." He said in an almost 'I told you so' sort of attitude. "It's you, Emmy." He smirked at his own use of his son's nickname for her, relishing in the sound of laughter he had drawn from the female brunette.

"Wow, well I love it even more now. Even with the messy hair and lack of arms and eyes."

Hotch chuckled softly as he witnessed his subordinate grinning down at his son's artwork. He continued to gaze at her for a short while, before forcing himself to drag his attention over to his son. "Come on, Buddy. We better be getting you home." Aaron told the little boy, who then swiftly made his way over to his father. "Thank you again, Emily. I seriously can't thank you enough."

"Of course, Sir. It was a pleasure honestly. Like I said, he was no trouble at all."

"Hand." The little boy announced holding his hand out to the lady stood in front of his father.

Emily took hold of Jack's hand upon request and felt herself being tugged forwards gently. "Where are we going, Buddy?" She questioned allowing him to pull her along.

"Daddy home."

The agent came to a halt, before dropping down to the child's level. "Oh Jack I'm sorry, I can't come home with you and your daddy. I still have work to do."

"Please." The little boy pleaded, pouting at her.

Aaron smiled down as his son. Jack had always been friendly and outgoing when it came to meeting knew people, but he'd never taken to someone so much quite so quickly. Hotch chuckled out loud at the thought that he wasn't the only Hotchner who had been enticed by Emily Prentiss. Maybe it ran in the family. "Jack, you will see Emily again next weekend at Dave's house."

The little boy stared up at his father looking confused.

After a little bit of convincing, from both the male and female agents, Jack released Emily's hand and agreed to leave with just his Dad.

"Bye Emmy." The toddler waved at her, grinning infectiously.

"Bye Jack." Emily's eyes flickered up to meet with the gaze of her boss. "Goodnight, Hotch."

"Goodnight, Emmy." Hotch found himself saying teasingly, without much thought.

The female profiler playfully glared at her boss.

"Sorry." He offered her a cheeky smile, flashing her the dimples he shared with his son. "Last time I call you that, I promise."


	19. Chapter 19

If possible, Aaron Hotchner spent even more time than usual stealing glances at his female subordinate, from up in his office, over the following week. He didn't think it was possible for his desire for her to grow any stronger than it already was, but that theory had been proven wrong after he had witnessed her interacting with his son. It scared him how much this woman, a woman who in all honesty wasn't even really a friend, meant to him. His feelings were irrational and unexplainable, but they were what they were, and truthfully, Aaron didn't want to fight them anymore. Even if she could never return his affection.

Unfortunately, Dave's dinner had to be postponed as the team were called away on an urgent case, the morning of the planned event.

The case was long a tedious but eventually they had a break and caught on to an unexpected lead. That was how the team had found themselves scattered into groups about to enter an old abandoned lot, hopefully to apprehend their team of Unsubs.

Hotch himself would be entering the front of the large building with Reid. Morgan was leading the entrance from the left side with JJ. Rossi would be going in from the right with Detective Henderson who had been leading the investigation before the BAU had been called in. And finally Prentiss would be going in through the rear of the building with Detective Henderson's partner. SWAT team members were spread out between the four entry points all waiting on the order to go in.

As they were about to proceed, Hotch's cell phone rang. He glanced down frowning to see who the incoming call was from, knowing that there was no way she would be calling at this moment unless it was a matter of life or death.

"Garica, what is it? We're about to go in." There was a short pause before Hotch spoke again. "What? Are you sure?" The Unit Chief ended the call, before screaming to Reid and the SWAT team around him. "IT'S A TRAP! STAND DOWN AND GET AWAY FROM THE BUILDING!" He pressed the button on his coms device, hoping and praying he could get his team all away from the scene, before the bomb that Garcia had just informed him about exploded. How Garcia had found out the information, he didn't know. He didn't care. Maybe she was wrong, but that wasn't a risk he was willing to take. "Everybody stand down. It's a trap. The building is rigged to blow. Fall back now!"

"Roger that." He heard, Rossi confirm.

"Falling back." Morgan added, seconds later.

The Unit Chief waited for a short moment for the team leader of the last group to respond, before he spoke again. "Prentiss? Do you copy?" He waited for six seconds before calling again. "Prentiss?" Again there was no response. "Prentiss?" Another four seconds passed. "EMILY!"

Aaron Hotchner felt a sickening wave of panic wash through him. He felt Reid tugging on his arm, trying to pull him to a safer distance away from the building. He knew he had to move but his legs had turned to jello. Salty liquid was gathering in the corners of his eyes, as Spencer half dragged him back from the site of the bomb, while in his ear he could hear Rossi and Morgan calling into the coms system for their female colleague.

Why wasn't she answering? What if she had already entered the building and her signal was being blocked?

As soon as that thought went through his mind, a horrifically loud bang sounded from inside the large building as the glass windows shattered and bits of brick and shrapnel flew everywhere, as the entire site burst into flames before his eyes. Everybody was either thrown or threw themselves to the ground as the explosion occurred.

Slightly disorientated and with his ears ringing, Hotch leapt up from the rocky floor and took off running around the left side of the building at the speed of light, knocking into multiple people on his way and stumbling over a few times in the process.

Worst case scenarios flooded his mind while he raced to reach the other end of the building. He tried to remain hopeful that she was fine, but it simply wasn't possible. Not as images of her lifeless body bleeding out into a pile of rubble filled his head.

After what felt like a lifetime, he finally rounded the corner and came to a halt, letting out a deep breath as he witnessed Derek Morgan enveloping Emily Prentiss in a tight embrace. He watched, while trying to control his breathless panting, as JJ and Rossi took their turns pulling the brunette into a hug.

A moment later, Spencer Reid appeared by his side, stopping to catch his breath as he spotted for himself that his friend was alright.

The female profiler noticed the other two team members, after Rossi released her from his arms and she slowly began to make her way towards them.

Reid met her half way and she welcomed him into a tight squeeze, while Hotch remained fixed to the spot, staring at them intensely while trying to slow down his heartrate.

She was okay.

When the pair finally separated Emily cautiously made her way towards her boss. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to scare everyone. My earpiece must have gone down, or the signal got blocked or something. I couldn't hear any of you talking to me, but the SWAT team got the message through from their guys and told me to fall back. I…" Emily cut off, her jaw dropping slightly as a single tear escaped and ran down the side of Hotch's face. "Sir, are you alright?"

Hotch took a couple of steps closer to his subordinate, wanting desperately to drag her into his arms, to feel for himself that she was really alive and standing before him. Despite the need within him, he refrained from taking her into his embrace, knowing he had lost all right to touch her the second he had kissed her that day in his office, against her will. "We… we thought we'd lost you." He paused before speaking again. "I thought _I'd_ lost you."

"Oh, Hotch. I'm so sorry." The female agent didn't hesitate to throw her arms around the broken man's neck, pressing him close to her.

Aaron Hotchner wasted no time securing his arms around her back, holding her in an almost painfully tight grip. His eyes fell shut as he held her for longer than he should have and he inhaled the ashy smell of her hair. This was the first physical contact he had had with her since the kiss he had forced on her almost six months prior.

"I'm okay." She whispered into his ear, after they had remained still and silent for a long while.

The Unit Chief was still incredibly shook up and only just getting his head around the fact that she was alright, as he felt her trying to pull away from the hug. A huge part of him never wanted to let go, to attempt to increase the tightness of the already impossibly secure hold he had on her. But he knew he had to let go. So he did.

When he released her, they pulled apart and stared into each other's eyes. Hotch could see the confusion flickering across Emily's features.

He could imagine what he probably looked like at that moment. His feelings and emotions were fully on display for not just her but also the rest of the team to see. They wouldn't have to be profilers to see that the concern he was showing was more than just that of a boss for his subordinate. But it didn't matter. All that mattered to him was that she was alive and safe before his eyes. For so long, Hotch had been completely guarded. But in that moment, for the first time since he was a really small child, his walls were down and his soul was bare for all to see. And he didn't care. He simply didn't care. What had this woman done to him?

 **Sorry for the slight delay. I've had a couple of really bad days at work and then I really struggled to write this chapter. I knew exactly what I wanted to happen, but I couldn't get the words out and I kept rereading it and changing parts I wasn't happy with. I'm still not overjoyed with it, in all honesty, but if I don't move on I can see myself still rewriting this weeks later. So apologies if this one is a little below standard. Big thank you again to everyone still following and reviewing this story.  
**


	20. Chapter 20

The weeks had gone on since the 'bombing incident' and things were good in the BAU. Everybody was working well together and Aaron Hotchner liked to think that his relationship with Emily Prentiss may well have been reaching the status of friendship.

The Unit Chief arrived at work at the same time as always, pulling into his usual parking spot, before starting on the journey to his office. He hadn't stopped off at 'The Fever Bean' that morning, so would have to make Prentiss her coffee in the break room.

Judging things by her usual timing, he had at good half an hour before the raven haired woman would arrive, so he decided to drop his things off in his office first and get set up before making her beverage.

As he made his way through the federal building, his mind travelled back to the case they had been working on the previous day. It had been a bad one. The team had been racing to find and return home Tai Slater, an eight year old blonde haired, blue eyed little boy. Hotch himself had become deeply invested in the case and had gone so far as to promise the parents the safe return of their son. This was something he had often scolded his own agents for doing and should have known better than to make such a rookie mistake.

It had been Hotch who had then had to go on and inform the mom and dad of the devastating news, when the team had failed to apprehend the Unsub in time. The rest of the team had witnessed Mrs Slater lash out verbally at their boss as the overwhelming sense of loss had consumed her.

He had been so sure that the Unsub wouldn't harm the child. Their profiles always offered a great indication of what they were looking for, but it was rare that a profile was ever one hundred percent accurate. He should never have entered the situation with such certainty. Maybe if he hadn't, Tai Slater would still be alive.

This was another thing he would reprimand members of his team for. Second guessing their actions and blaming themselves for things that were out of their control. The Unsub is to blame and nobody else. That is what he would tell them and that is what he was trying to tell himself. But the message was struggling to sink in.

Hotch was pulled from his thoughts as he entered the bullpen and spotted Emily Prentiss, already sat at her desk, sipping away at a steaming cup of coffee. She hadn't seen or heard him enter, so she jumped, somehow managing to keep herself from spilling her drink, when he spoke. "Prentiss, what are you doing here so early?"

She spun around to face him, wide eyed. "Jesus Hotch, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"I'm sorry." He apologised, moving closer to her desk, deciding to perch himself on the edge of it. "Is everything okay? Why are you here?"

"Everything's fine, apart from my accelerated heartbeat right now. And I'm here, because I work here, remember?" She smiled cheekily, inwardly cheering when she earnt a small smile.

"I mean, why are you here so early?"

"Oh, couldn't sleep, plus I had something I needed to do this morning." She responded, brushing off his concerns.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Is it something I can help you with?"

"Nope, it's all sorted." She beamed at him. "I got it done before you arrived."

Hotch glanced down at the mess on her desk. An empty cup from The Fever Bean, plus a now almost empty mug from the break room, along with the amount of paper work sat in her out tray that he knew wasn't there last night, told him all he needed to know. "Prentiss, how long have you been here?"

"Since five." She answered honestly. "Well actually, I was here at 4.38, but security wouldn't unlock the offices until five."

"5am?" Hotch questioned, glaring down at his watch that read 6.24. "Why?"

"Well, I didn't know what time you got here. I've never beaten you in before and I wanted to make sure that I did today."

"What? Why?"

"Never you mind, Agent Hotchner." She smirked, returning her attention to the files on her desk, speaking again when he remained beside her. "Haven't you got any work to be doing, Sir?"

Hotch shook his head, smiling as he headed up to his office, before frowning as he brought the key up to unlock the door, only to find it was already open. "I could have sworn I locked this last night?" He called down to his colleague.

"You did." The female replied, not glancing up from her work as she spoke.

"You picked the lock?" He questioned, incredulously.

"I plead the fifth." Hotch could see her grin, even though she didn't raise her head to look at him.

The unit chief chuckled quietly to himself as he entered the room flicking on the light, wondering what she had done. His eyes immediately spotted the intruding coffee mug on his desk and he couldn't stop the flutter that he felt inside. She had done this for him. She'd arrived at work at 4.38 just so she could make him coffee after a hard case. Would this woman ever run out of ways to amaze him?

He moved over to his desk, placing his things down and taking a seat before lifting the mug and noticing the small yellow sticky label attached to it. On it was written a message.

 **It wasn't your fault.**

His gaze shot down to the bullpen, finding the beautiful agent still engrossed in her paperwork. She really was something special. He turned his attention back to the drink in his hand and removed the message, before taking a sip, surprised to find it still rather hot. She must have made the drink fairly recently. It couldn't have been sat there since 5am.

The male agent continued to sip away at his coffee while he began working, casting glances down into the bullpen every couple of minutes.

After ten minutes or so, he heard the door to his office open and in walked Emily Prentiss, without knocking. "Hey, I forgot to send these up with you when you were at my desk." She explained as she placed the files, that he had spotted in her out tray earlier, onto his desk.

Hotch nodded, before she turned to leave. "Thank you for the coffee." He called out to her, before she reached the doorway. "You really didn't have to."

"You do it for everyone else." She told him, with a soft smile.

"It's still hot?" The man inquired. "Clearly it hasn't been sat here since 5am. Did you have a hard time picking the lock to my office, this morning?"

"Firstly, you have no proof that I did that. Secondly, I can pick locks faster than Reid can read, so if I did in fact want to break into your office, I would be inside in seconds." She beamed over at him. "That cup of coffee right there may well be the first one you're drinking, but it's not the first one I made for you. I kept tipping them out and making you a fresh one every fifteen to twenty minutes. I know you like your coffee pretty hot and I didn't want it getting cold."

Aaron Hotchner just stared at the woman in front of him in awe. "Prentiss, you really shouldn't be wasting the coffee that's provided for us, this is how we end up with cut backs."

Emily's face dropped. "God, Hotch, I'm sorry. I didn't even think. I'm so stupid. I…"

"Emily, I'm joking." He cut her off, as she began to ramble.

The female profiler gawked at him in confusion, before her features lit up, once more. "So you do have a sense of humour?"

"I do." He confirmed. "Just don't go telling everybody. I have a 'no nonsense' reputation to uphold."

Emily laughed loudly at that and Aaron couldn't stop himself from staring at her. He allowed his eyes to slowly wander down and up the length of her flawless body, licking his lips, before his gaze met hers. Her laughter had stopped and he saw the smallest look of embarrassment in her eyes, as she gulped.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could say, wanting to look away from her, but finding himself unable to do so.

"It's fine." She tried to assure him. "I'm going to get back to work."

"Emily." He called out to her as she turned in the doorway, forcing her attention back on him. "You should listen to your own advice."

"I'm sorry…" Her expression knotted in confusion.

Hotch held up the note she had written for him. "You're right, what happened to Tai Slater wasn't my fault. And what happened to McKenzie Bourne, wasn't yours."

She didn't respond, just stayed staring at him as her mind raced back to the case she couldn't let go.

"I know you needed me to make that clear to you the day it happened. And you have no idea how much I hate myself for not doing so. But I'm telling you now, Emily, and I need you to believe it. I know you still blame yourself for the death of that little girl, but it wasn't your fault. It wasn't JJ's fault. Nobody is to blame for what happened, except the Unsub."

"If I'd have taken the shot sooner…"

"Don't do that to yourself." Aaron Hotchner shot up from behind his desk and paced over to the teary eyed agent. "If we choose to second guess our actions in the field every time a case doesn't end the way we like, this job will consume us. Our profile indicated that there was a good chance of talking the Unsub down without her harming the child. I would have tried the same approach you did. Your actions weren't wrong, Emily, the profile was. The collective effort of the team, that we all reached the same conclusion. If you blame yourself for the death of McKenzie, then you're effectively blaming me. I sent you and JJ in there. Why is that?" He continued when she made no attempt to answer. "I'm the best shooter. If I'd have wanted to go in there guns blazing, I'd have gone in myself. I sent you and JJ in because I thought that the two of you had the best chance at getting through to Miranda Williams. Do you blame me for McKenzie's death?"

"What? No. I would never blame you."

"Then how can you blame yourself?" He asked her, frowning at the shaking woman who stood only inches in front of him.

"I was in the room." She explained. "I know JJ was too, but I'm the profiler, Hotch. I should have picked up on her behaviour. I should have seen the signs. I watched as a seven year old girl who was screaming at me to save her, begging for her life, had her throat slit by the woman you sent me in to stop." An unexpected sob broke out of Emily, as tears began to fall freely from her reddened eyes. "And I was too slow, I saw what was going to happen and I didn't shoot fast enough. I'm so sorry."

He'd never seen Emily Prentiss like this. She was so good at compartmentalising and not letting the terrible things they witnessed on a daily basis get to her. But this case was different. Every one of them had at least one case that would torment them for years after it was over. This was hers. After a moment's hesitation, Aaron Hotchner cautiously dragged the crying profiler into his arms. He held her tightly against his chest as she continued to sob into the fabric of his shirt. He knew he should have done this that day. Maybe if he had she wouldn't have spent all these months torturing herself into thinking it was her fault. But he couldn't go back and change that now, all he could do was try and make things better for her going forward. "It wasn't your fault."

After a short while, Prentiss pulled away from him, shifting uncomfortably. Unbelievably and in record time she composed herself, wiping away any excess liquid from her cheeks and somehow mustering the strength to offer him the smallest of half smiles. "I'm sorry, Sir. I shouldn't be burdening you with this."

"Emily, if you ever need to talk to me, I am always here for you." He assured her, gently gripping hold of her arm, as she attempted to move further away from him. "About anything. Anytime, day or night. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me to be. I will never be able to make that up to you. But I'm here for you now. So don't ever feel the need to apologise, for 'burdening' me. Because, Emily Prentiss, you are anything but a burden to me."

Emily gazed up into his intense stare, feeling somewhat weak at the knees. How had this man become someone she found herself wanting to lean on? Not that long ago, she hated him and now she felt the sudden urge to be back in his arms. She wanted to reach up and kiss him. Wait what? Where the hell did that come from? She didn't want to kiss him, did she? She frowned at her thoughts and forced them out of her brain. She was going to blame them on the little amount of sleep she had last night and the fact she was upset and emotional, mixed with the knowledge that it had been a really, really long time since she had gotten any action.

"I mean it, Emily." He informed her sincerely, after a short time spent in silence.

"I thought I was a distraction?" Prentiss questioned, the thought leaving her lips before she even realised she was talking out loud.

"What do you mean?" He brows furrowed in confusion.

"You told me that you were physically attracted to me." She explained. "You said that you behaved the way you did because you needed to distance yourself from me. Because I was a distraction. If that's true, surely that does make me a burden to you?"

Aaron let out a defeated sigh. "My feelings and emotions are the issue here, not you. I admit that I wrongly blamed you at first, but I know now that you are not responsible for the way I feel. I am a burden to myself. You are not at fault for that."

She nodded, accepting his answer as honest.

"And Emily, being the brilliant profiler you are, I thought that it would have become clear to you by now, that my attraction to you is more than just physical."

Emily Prentiss looked like a deer caught in head lights and her mouth dropped open with a gasp at his confession. What did that even mean? She had now accepted completely and fully that Hotch hadn't been lying about his attraction to her, but Emily had never entertained the idea for a second, that he felt more for her than just a physical need. Was he saying that he had genuine feelings for her?

"I'm sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable." He apologised, taking in her shocked and somewhat frightened expression. "That wasn't my intention."

"I don't understand, Sir." She shook her head in confusion. "How can your feelings for me be anything more than physical? You know nothing about me."

"I know that you're incredibly loyal and dedicated to the job. I know you overcompensate because you still don't yet fully feel you are part of the team, you needn't worry. You're compassionate and show a kind of empathy towards victims and victim's families that I am envious of. You are unbelievably kind hearted. You bring in brightly coloured toys and hide them around Garcia's office after she's been forced to watch or listen to things she'd rather not on a case. You do this so she remembers to smile, even though she doesn't much feel like it. Even though you have enough work of your own to do, you take on some of JJ's work load when she's feeling overwhelmed. I know how much gets filtered through her office and I know you're always there for her to lean on and lend a hand when she's struggling, even if it means you yourself then end up staying later than you would like. You treat Reid like a little brother, teasing him the way any older sibling would and, although he won't admit it, he loves the feeling of a teasing older sister. You protect him, however, when Morgan or Garcia try to pick on him. You are also the only member of the team who listens intently to every word he says, no matter how long he rambles on and no matter how boring the topic is to you. If he wants to talk to you about it, then it must be important to him, making it important to you also. Morgan flirts with you shamelessly and although you would never take him up on any of his offers, you entertain him every time, because you know that it's the way he deals with stress and with tough cases. And if you broke away from his banter, he would be left to face the thoughts that his flirtation erases from his mind. You've started referring to Rossi as 'Dave' because you know he's starting to feel old and the constant 'sirs' and 'Agent Rossis' don't help with his insecurity. So even though you feel 'sir' is the appropriate way to address a senior agent, you make an exception for him because you know he'll appreciate it. You would do anything for anyone on this team, myself included. Strauss has been trying to get me out of this unit for a while now and despite what I have done to you, you didn't use anything against me and you had every right to. You could have had me fired for sexual harassment the day I kissed you, but you don't have a spiteful bone in your body. I expect the idea of reporting me didn't even enter your mind, because revenge isn't in you. You still show me respect in the field and in the office, even when others question my authority. You went out of your way to selflessly look after my son when you had absolutely no obligation to do so. You're intelligent and caring. You have an unbelievable sense of humour, that varies in style depending who you are trying to cheer up. You hate to see anybody in any kind of pain, physical or emotional, and you always try to make them laugh when they are, even if you don't feel like laughing much yourself at the time. You have the ability to cheer anyone up, no matter how low they are feeling. You push your emotions aside, because you have a built in need to put others before yourself. I know more about you than you think, Emily Prentiss. And the more I learn, the more you amaze me."

"I thought we all agreed not to profile each other?" Emily asked softly, after a short pause, in awe at his speech.

"I wasn't profiling you." He informed her with a small smile. "I was simply noticing things about you."

"Isn't that the unofficial definition of what a profiler does?" She questioned. "Notice things?"

Hotch chuckled quietly at her. "I suppose so."

Silence enveloped the room for a long pause, before Emily spoke again. "Thank you, Sir."

"For what?"

"All of the things you just said about me. I'm not the kind of girl to go fishing for compliments, but no one can deny that it's nice to feel noticed and appreciated. And you little 'non-profile' of me, may well be the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me."

"It's all true." He assured her. "Every word."

"You were wrong about one thing."

The Unit Chief tilted his head questioningly.

"I did consider it." The female profiler admitted. "Reporting you. Multiple times actually."

"Why didn't you then? You had every right to."

"There was more than one reason. And they're not all as selfless as you might think. I've been surrounded by politics my entire life, so I've seen the kind of situations people can talk themselves out of, if they're running in circles with the right people. I didn't know what sort of connections you had within the bureau. I didn't want to risk making things worse for myself. Also the rest of the team love you so much. I was the outsider, I didn't want to come in and ruin a team that loved each other and worked together so well. Some of the time, I even had myself convinced it was my fault."

"Emily, I'm so sorry." Hotch hated that her confession made it seem like they had been in some sort of abusive relationship, where he had caused her to believe she deserved his abuse. "I don't think there is ever going to come a time when I can stop apologising for what I put you through. I could live a thousand years, doing nothing but good deeds, and still never deserve your friendship."

"You were an asshole, Hotch. No doubt about it. But you can stop beating yourself up about it now. You've apologised enough and most importantly you've changed. I'm not saying that magically makes everything you did okay, but for what it's worth, I forgive you."


	21. Chapter 21

A couple of weeks on from when Emily had made coffee for Hotch, The team had finally gotten around to rescheduling the meal at Dave's that had been postponed for quite a while.

They had agreed, that as Jack would be attending, to hold the event on a Saturday so they would be able to have dinner earlier than they would on the Friday, to help keep to the little boy's bedtime routine.

In anticipation of the fact that Dave would most likely not be serving the most child friendly food, with regards to mess, Hotch had packed a spare change of clothes for his son. A good thing too, as the toddler had ended up covered from head to toe in sauce by the end of the meal.

Once he had changed his son, Aaron took the little boy into his arms and made his way back into the room where the rest of the team were gathered, drinking and chatting.

As soon as they had entered, Jack wriggled in an attempt to escape his father's grip. Once on the ground, the child immediately sort out the attention of the female brunette who he had barely left alone from the moment they had arrived.

"Hand." Jack spoke firmly, holding his hand out to Emily.

"Jack, don't be so demanding." His father scolded softly. "Emily, please let me know if he's bothering you. Don't feel like you have to let him drag you around all evening."

"Oh, don't be silly Sir." The female agent smiled over at her boss, before grinning down at his son. "How could anybody not want to be dragged around by this adorable little man?"

"Emmy. Come." The toddler pulled at Emily's hand as he began walking away.

Aaron Hotchner stood and watched in awe as his son led the woman over to Dave's large fish tank and started pointing to all the different fish, telling her the colours of them. He witnessed as Emily listened intently, smiling as Jack poked his finger out at all the same fish over and over again, spouting out the colour. Emily beamed down at him happily, telling the little boy which fish was her favourite and then laughing as Jack kept changing his mind about which one his favourite was, every time a different one swam passed.

After getting an approving nod from Dave, Emily reached for the pot of fish food, by the side of the tank, before lifting Jack up into her arms and helping him to throw some food into the water.

The little boy laughed almost uncontrollably as the fish all swam around hectically, racing to eat the food on offer, earning a toothy grin from the lady holding him.

"She's, unintentionally, making it very difficult for you to push aside your feelings for her, isn't she?" David Rossi questioned, coming to stand beside Hotch.

Aaron cast a sideways glance at his old friend, before returning his attention to the scene playing out before him. "Yes, she is." The Unit Chief answered honestly.

The pair remained silent watching the woman and child for a short while longer, before Dave let out a small chuckle as Jack got over excited and managed to splash his hands hard against the top of the water, effectively soaking his material covered arms, as well as the front of Emily's shirt.

Hotch panicked a little at first and rushed over to apologise to his subordinate, slowing his pace as he witnessed her laughing at the situation. He came to a halt behind them and stared as Emily held Jack backwards, pretending she was going to dunk his head in the water, while the toddler playfully squealed.

"No Emmy." He cried out, with a chuckle, grinning at the woman holding him.

The female agent pulled the child away from the open top tank and instead began to tickle his side, causing the youngster to giggle loudly.

"Daddy help!" The little boy screamed out through his giggles, as he spotted his father near them.

"Okay Jack, I'm here to help." Hotch smiled and took a step closer as he too began to tickle his son.

"No, Daddy. No." Jack managed to call out in between uncontrollable fits of laughter.

Emily could feel her grip loosening, as the little boy wriggled in her arms, so quickly placed his feet on the floor, worrying she may drop him.

With his new freedom, Jack swiftly ran away from the tickling hands, still laughing as he scurried off.

The two dark haired agents watched as the boy came to halt in front of where Penelope Garcia was sat, before the blonde pulled the little boy onto her lap.

"I'm sorry about your shirt." Hotch was the first to speak, as he gestured to the wet patch on her chest.

"It's only water, Sir." She assured him, fingering the damp fabric. "No harm done. It will dry in no time."

"Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Emily tilted her head to the side slightly.

"The way you are with Jack." Hotch answered. "He's really taken with you and you're amazing with him."

"He's an amazing kid." She beamed, casting a glance over at the small child.

"You'll make a great mother one day." He told her with a smile.

Against her will, a light blush coloured Emily's cheeks at the compliment. "Thank you, Sir."

A small frown fell upon the Unit Chief's face, confusing his subordinate.

"What wrong?" She questioned.

"Nothing." He shook his head, letting a sigh escape him. "I just… I was hoping we'd reached a place where you would feel comfortable dropping the 'Sir' a little more. At the very least when we're outside of work."

"Sorry, force of habit." She explained. "I don't mean anything by it. It just kind of slips out, I don't even realise I'm saying it most of the time."

Hotch nodded in understanding.

"Let's rewind and try that again. Tell me I'll make a great mother again."

The male chuckled quietly, before complying with her request. "Emily Prentiss, you will make a great mother one day."

The female agent grinned at her boss, before replying. "Thank you, Aaron."

Aaron Hotchner's eyes widened at the sound of his first name falling from her lips. He hadn't been expecting that. Hotch? Yes. Aaron? No. She had told him, after all, that calling him 'Aaron' felt too intimate. The corners of his mouth tugged up into a smile as he found himself flashing his dimples in her direction.

"You should smile more often, Sir. It suits you. Oh shit, I just did it again, didn't I?"

Hotch laughed loudly, as the woman in front of him rushed to apologise. "It's alright, Emily." The male agent stared unashamedly at her. He knew that she would be able to read his feelings, as would the rest of the team if they were watching.

Aaron had always masked his emotions and hidden his feelings from a young age. But more and more often recently, when it came to Emily Prentiss, he had found himself simply dropping his walls and allowing her to see everything. It was an irrational behaviour for him. What shocked him even more was the fact that, when he realised what he was putting on display, he didn't care who saw. He knew he should care, but he didn't.

Not too long ago, Hotch never would have dreamed of asking the question he was about to ask. He knew how open and vulnerable it would make him sound. But he had to know.

Emily turned away from her boss, her face coloured a light red colour. Obviously, he'd been staring too long. "I'm gonna go and get another drink, would you like anything?"

"Can I ask you something first?" Hotch drew her attention back to him once more. "I apologise in advance if this question is going to make you feel uncomfortable. I never want for you to feel that way, but I just have to know. When I kissed you, you told me that I never stood a chance with you." He paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "Is that still the case now?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hotch… I don't… what?"

"Look, I know I've only recently been given your forgiveness and I'm not delusional enough to think I could earn your affection easily after what I put you through. I'm not asking for a promise of any sort. I just need to know. Is there any hope, whatsoever? Even the smallest amount. Do I stand a chance with you?"

Emily pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she thought over his question. "Even if I were to completely erase our past, we work together, Hotch. I may be willing to admit that I consider you attractive and that there might be the smallest chance I could develop feelings for you, but any form of romantic relationship between us could negatively impact the team. So, I'm inclined to say no. I don't think a romantic relationship between you and I would be the best idea." She answered, her heart dropping as she witnessed the pained expression cross his features. "Although saying that, if you want me to be completely honest, I've always been a big believer of the phrase 'never say never'."

She offered him a wink, before making her way over to the drinks cart.

It wasn't much, but it was enough. He had a shot. A tiny shot, at that. But still, it was a chance a few months back he never could have expected. It was hope.


	22. Chapter 22

It was a Monday morning and Emily had stopped off at 'The Fever Bean' on the way into work, picking up coffees for herself and Hotch.

Over the previous few weeks she had been doing this every Monday and it had gotten to the point where Hotch had stopped making them a drink on the first work day of the week, as it had become routine that she would provide the morning beverages on a Monday.

Once she entered the federal building, Emily swiftly made her way up to the bullpen, dropping her own drink at her desk, before heading up to Hotch's office to give him his coffee.

It had all been going so well, until Emily had gone to hand the drink to her male colleague and lost her footing. She stumbled forward, effectively soaking and staining her boss's shirt with the hot beverage.

"Oh my God, Hotch, I'm so sorry." Why did she have to be so damn clumsy? "I'm really, really sorry."

"It's alright, Prentiss." The male assured her, allowing his suit jacket to fall from his arms and pulling off his tie, before swiftly unbuttoning his shirt and allowing the white fabric to fall from his shoulders and drop to the floor. "It's hot but it's not scalding hot. It's not going to leave any burn marks." Hotch would be lying if he didn't admit to himself that the contact of the hot liquid seeping through his clothing had hurt him a little, hence the reason he was quickly removing the wet garments, but the last thing he wanted was for his agent to feel bad about the accident.

"But it will stain, Sir. And it's soaked through to your undershirt. I'm such a…"

Emily halted mid-sentence and her eyes widened as her boss lifted his undershirt over his head, using the dry part of the material to wipe off the moisture on his abdomen. "It was an accident. I have spare clothes in my bag, right here, so there's really no harm done."

Emily wanted to look away, she wanted to look away desperately. But her eyes failed her as they continued to stare of their own accord at the half naked man. The well-toned half naked man. The female profiler knew she was being watched, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the bare chest in front of her.

Hotch felt his insides jump and his cheeks flush as he witnessed his subordinate gawking at his exposed abdomen. He honestly hadn't taken his clothes off in the hope of affecting her this way, but it was definitely a bonus he was relishing in.

He felt a smirk tickle his features as Emily's tongue slipped out of her mouth to moisten her lips. His grin widened as her eyes flickered up to meet his and she shot him an almost playfully annoyed glare.

"Aren't you going to get yourself dressed, Sir?" She asked, thrilled with herself that she had managed to get the question out without stammering in her flustered state.

"I was under the impression that you were enjoying the view." The Unit Chief teased, perching himself on the edge of his desk.

Emily was taken by surprise, at her supervisor's playful demeanour and almost 'cocky' attitude. Despite the feeling of slight awkwardness within her, she let out a quiet chuckle. "Don't flatter yourself, Sir. I simply wasn't expecting to be greeted with a strip tease so early in the morning. You caught me off guard."

He laughed, continuing to stare at the gorgeous woman in front of him, feeling somewhat at ease with the situation despite his current exposed state. "You were staring." He informed her, with a small smirk.

Emily blushed furiously, internally cursing herself for allowing him to affect her the way he was. She shook her head. "Well, I thought I'd give you a taste of your own medicine. It's not like you haven't spent enough time over the last eight months staring at me."

"Can you blame me?" Hotch questioned, stepping closer to the female profiler.

Emily dragged her bottom lip between her teeth, as her gaze dropped to the floor.

Hotch sighed. "I'm making you uncomfortable."

It was more of a statement than a question, but she answered it honestly anyway, returning her eyes to his. "A little."

Aaron reached for his go-bag with the intention of pulling out his clean clothes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Emily cautiously moved closer to him, her teeth torturing her bottom lip as she pushed her nervousness aside. "You're right, it is a pretty good view."

His eyes shot up to meet hers. Was she flirting with him? No, she couldn't be. Even if she was it had to be some sort of joke. Yeah, she was playing with him. She had to be. This was like the whole 'skin tight shirt and jeans' situation all over again. She wanted to make him squirm. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. "You're teasing me."

"Says the man flaunting his well-toned naked torso in my face."

"Well-toned, huh?" he chuckled, as his insides fluttered at her compliment. He knew she flirted like this with Morgan and he really needed to stop trying to read more into this that it was. This was simply her moving their relationship to the level of friendship. It wasn't an indication of any sort of romantic or sexual feelings. It couldn't be could it?

"I'm impressed, Sir." She offered him a wide grin, having absolutely no clue where her sudden confidence had come from. "If I'd have known the scenery was going to be so good, I'd have thrown a cup of coffee over you sooner."

"If I'd have known it was going to make you smile like this, I'd have come to work shirtless sooner."

Before Emily had chance to respond, Hotch's office door flew open. "Morning Boss-man, I… Oh my god. Wow. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt… whatever this is."

As the technical analyst entered the room, Emily flew as far back from her boss as she could, while Hotch reached for his clothes in his bag, swiftly beginning to pull his clean undershirt over his head as he spoke. "Garcia, this isn't what it looks like."

"It doesn't look like anything, Sir." She assured him. "Nothing at all. Nope. It doesn't look like anything. Wow, you two would make such beautiful dark haired children. Crap. I'm still talking. Stop talking." The flustered blonde turned to leave. "I'm going to go. You two get back to whatever you were doing… or weren't doing. I'm going to knock next time, I promise. I'm sorry. Please, carry on. Oh my god. Why can't I stop talking?"

"Garcia." Emily called for her friend's attention. "I spilled boiling hot coffee on Hotch's shirt."

Hotch held up his stained clothing in confirmation. "I was changing out of my wet clothes, Garcia. That's all. Why are you in so early this morning? What do you need?" He questioned, buttoning up the fresh shirt he had put on.

"Nothing, Sir. I don't need anything. Nothing that can't wait anyway."

"Garcia…"

Before he had a chance to stop her, the tech girl had fled his office and ran down the steps and out of sight.

"Does she seriously think we were just about to do it in your office?" Emily questioned with wide eyes, staring at the spot where her friend had been stood gawking just moments earlier.

"It would appear so." Hotch answered, as he finished getting himself dressed. "She wasn't wrong though was she? I mean that is what was about to happen, wasn't it?"

Emily Prentiss' jaw nearly hit the floor, as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "What? Hotch… Sir… I…"

"I'm kidding, Emily." He sat down behind his desk, flashing her a small smirk. "Do you really think I would treat you that way? A quick fuck in my office? Absolutely not." He shook his head at the thought, before adding with a playful smile. "Not for our first time anyway."

Emily chuckled loudly, despite the slight feeling of awkwardness within her. "Behave yourself, Sir."

"Oh, this is me behaving myself." He flashed her his cheeky grin, complete with dimples. "I can show you what me misbehaving looks like if you really want?"

"Sir, what on earth has gotten into you today?" The female profiler asked through her laughter, unable to stop herself from beaming back at her 'out of character' boss.

Hotch found himself laughing back. "I honestly have no idea. I'm just in a good mood, I suppose. Strauss has the week off, I had a great weekend with Jack and your presence early on a Monday morning always has a way of heightening my spirits. Would you prefer I go back to my 'Mr Doom and Gloom' ways? And yes, I did overhear you calling me that once."

"No, truthfully, I like this side of you. And given the amount of times I used to call you that, I'm surprised you only overheard me saying it once."

The pair continued to stare at each other as they chuckled. This was easily the most playful and friendly they had been around each other since the day Emily had joined the team.

Prentiss couldn't fight back the blush that coloured her usually pale cheeks, as she eyed her supervisor. Of course she had noticed that he was a good looking man when she had started working with the unit. She wasn't blind. But there had been three reasons she had immediately fought off any further thought into how attractive he was. One, because he was married. Two, because he was an asshole. And three, because he was her boss. He wasn't married anymore. He wasn't an asshole anymore. But he was still her boss. She shouldn't have feelings for him, no matter how hard her heart was trying to tell her otherwise in that moment. It wouldn't work.

"What are you thinking?" He questioned, ever so slightly cautiously, taking in her sudden confused look.

She smiled, deciding that she liked the flirtatious banter they had somehow developed and for once she didn't want to turn things between them serious. "I was considering calling your bluff, Sir."

"In what way?" He inquired with his eyebrows raised.

The female agent offered her boss a wide grin as she raised one of her own brows challengingly. "I was thinking about asking you to show me your 'misbehaving' side? To see if it really exists or if you're just 'all talk', Agent Hotchner."

"I can assure you, I'm not 'all talk', Agent Prentiss." The Unit Chief stood up and slowly made his way around to the front of his desk, before stepping right in front of his female subordinate. His darkened, lust filled eyes pierced into her as she dragged her bottom lip between her teeth. "But if you don't believe me, by all means, call my bluff and find out for yourself."

Emily gasped at the sudden intensity of the situation. Her heartrate and breathing were rapidly increasing as she stood, almost trembling, before him. She didn't know what she wanted to do. There was part of her that wanted to say 'to hell with everything' and reach up and kiss him. But the more rational, dominant part of her brain was screaming at her to run.

"It's your call, Emily." He told her, as his left hand came up to brush some hair back behind her ear.

The flustered brunette took a step back as her face flushed a deep shade of crimson. "I should get back to my desk. You know how it is, lots of paperwork and what have you." With that said she began to make her way towards the door.

"I'm sorry." The male agent called out as she reached the exit, causing her to turn and face him. "If I took things too far and…"

"No Hotch, please don't feel that you've done anything wrong." Emily cut him off, rushing to reassure him. "You haven't. In all honestly, it's really refreshing to see this less serious side of you. I just…" _don't know how much more of this I can take before I jump you and end up letting you have your way with me on your desk_. She finished in her head, blushing even more at the inappropriate images that flooded her mind. "I'm just not used to being out-flirted, so to speak. You've really caught me off guard today, Sir. But that's not a bad thing. Like I said, it's nice seeing you like this."

Hotch nodded, accepting her reasoning as sincere, gladdened by the fact that he didn't seem to have made her too uncomfortable. He wasn't completely sure where his sudden confidence and flirtatious side had come from, but he had enjoyed the effect he was having on her, up until she had backed away from him anyway. Now he was back tracking in his head, trying to remember everything he had said and analysing how she may have taken it.

"Hey." She called out, dragging him from his thoughts. "Stop over thinking. I can see your cogs turning. Stop it."

A smile played on his features as he let out a small chuckle. "Is that an order ma'am?"

"Yes." She grinned playfully. "By the way, I'll go and make you another coffee. I'm assuming you want one?"

"You would assume right, if you're sure you don't mind."

"Not at all."

"Unless this is just another plan to get me shirtless again?" He questioned, smirking up at her

"No, it is not. And what do you mean another plan? There was no plan to get you shirtless in the first place." The female profiler defended. "It was an accident."

"If you say so."

Emily laughed loudly as she exited his office, before heading to the break room. Yep, she definitely liked this side of him.


	23. Chapter 23

It was a couple of weeks on from the embarrassing coffee spill incident and as always, Emily Prentiss found herself to be the last remaining person down in the bullpen. It was a Saturday so she shouldn't really have been there at all, but as the team had only just got back from a case an hour or so earlier, they had been allowed to enter the offices to sort some things.

Most of them had disappeared within ten minutes of their arrival, but Emily, workaholic that she was, wanted to get a jump on the paperwork and was taking advantage of the peaceful environment.

"I'm leaving the office right now." Prentiss heard Hotch's agitated tone as he spoke into his cell, dropping his bag and coat to the floor in a hurry to lock his office door. "I'll be right over to get him."

There was a pause, obviously when the other person spoke, before Hotch responded.

"Haley, please." The man pleaded. "I will be there in less than twenty minutes."

He picked up his things and made his way down the steps swiftly, suddenly coming to a halt at the bottom.

"No. Please don't do this, Haley. I can be at yours by six." He begged. "Please, don't keep my son from me."

Emily heard what could only be described as high pitched shrieks down the phone, as Haley said something Emily couldn't make out before the line got cut off.

The female profiler knew that she needed to stop staring at her boss as he stood frozen in place near her desk, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the broken man. She took in his pained expression and the way his fists clenched tightly onto his coat and bag. It didn't matter what he'd done in the past, right now in this moment, it was impossible for Emily not to feel sorry for the man.

"Sir?" Prentiss called out to him warily, after a long pause of silence had flooded the bullpen. "Are you alright?"

Hotch's eyes flickered up to meet hers and Emily could see the glint of anger behind the pain in his stare. Not that she could blame him, I mean what a stupid question. Clearly his ex-wife was not going to let him see his son this weekend. Of course he wasn't alright.

"Sorry, stupid question. Sorry." Emily apologised quickly, panicking a little, her mind wandering back to the past when Hotch used to lash out at her for no reason. This time she had given him a reason, but prayed he wouldn't act on it. "I'm sorry."

The male's gaze softened as he took in his subordinate's words and body language. He was angry at Haley and a little at himself, he wasn't about to take that anger out on the woman in front of him. "Don't apologise, I know you're only trying to help."

Emily let out breath she hadn't realised she was holding, offering her colleague a comforting smile, before speaking again. "If you want to talk about it, I've been told I'm a good listener. And my boss tells me I have an amazing sense of humour and the ability to cheer anyone up, no matter how low they are feeling. What to put his theory to the test?"

The corner of Hotch's mouth turned up a fraction at her comment, dropping again when he instantly remembered why he needed cheering up in the first place. "Haley won't let me see Jack this weekend."

"Can she do that?" Emily frowned. "I mean, didn't you two have an agreement that as long as you weren't working a case, you got Jack three weekends of every month. And I know that it was Haley's weekend to keep him last week, so…"

"The agreement was that I would have him from Friday evening until Sunday evening, three weekends of every month. And as I wasn't here to pick him up yesterday, I've apparently forfeited my right to see my son this weekend."

"But doesn't she know that we were working a case yesterday and that we only got back to Quantico an hour ago? Jack needs to see his Dad."

"Jack needs structure. He needs his dad to be there for him when he says he's going to. He needs his dad to put him before the job. If his dad can't make himself available for three Fridays a month to pick up his son, then maybe he doesn't deserve to be a dad."

"She said that to you?"

Aaron nodded.

"Bitch." The word fell from her lips, before she could stop it. Her eyes widened in shock at the fact she had said that out loud and she slapped her hand to her mouth hard. "Sir, I'm so sorry. I…"

"Its fine, Emily." He told her, offering the smallest of smiles to assure her that her comment hadn't upset him. "I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the word had entered my mind when she said that."

The female profiler laughed softly. "Are you going to go there and try anyway?"

"No, if I thought there was a chance I'd win I would. But when Haley makes her mind up about something, there's no changing it. If I drive over there now, all that will happen is that Jack will get to witness his parents screaming at each other for half an hour and then I'll still end up going home alone tonight."

Emily watched as his features saddened even further. "Do you want to go for a drink?" The words escaped her mouth, before she'd thought them through.

The Unit Chief stared at her intently, trying and failing to read her. He was feeling like crap, not being able to see his son and a drink with the beautiful brunette would certainly be a better way to spend his evening than at home alone, sulking and doing paperwork. "Sure, I'd like that."

Emily nodded and, after she'd packed up her things, the pair made their way to the parking lot without another word.

Once they neared their vehicles, Aaron turned to the woman beside him. "Meet you at Murphy's?"

She began to nod, halting when a thought crossed her mind. "How about I drive us? I have a feeling that you could use more than one beer tonight. I could drive us, drop you off at home tonight and then pick you up on Monday morning on the way in. Or I could drop you here tomorrow to pick your car up."

"Emily, you really don't have to do that."

"I know." She assured him. "I want to."

Hotch thought it over. She was right of course, he really could use more than one drink. "As long as you're sure?"

"I wouldn't have offered, if I wasn't." She smiled happily, her eyes sparkling under the parking building lighting.

"I should probably warn you, before there's no turning back, Haley's friends always used to refer to me as 'the weepy drunk'." He confessed. "So if at any point I start moping about not being able to see Jack, or god forbid, I start crying, then it's your responsibility to tell me to man up and then to cheer me up."

"Is that an order, Sir?" She replied playfully.

"Yes."

Emily chuckled quietly. "I'm finding it hard to imagine the stoic Aaron Hotchner crying because he's had too much to drink."

The drive to Murphy's was short and quiet. Despite his low mood, Hotch found himself a little excited at the opportunity of spending time alone with Emily Prentiss outside of a working environment.

He couldn't fight the urge to glance over in her direction as they pulled into the parking lot outside the bar. She caught onto his stare and smiled, before retuning her attention to the task of parking the car.

Once inside the bar, the pair found themselves a small table near the edge of the room, deciding to order some food. Murphy's didn't offer a very large variety of choice on the menu, just a few simple typical American, Irish and British 'Pub Grub' options.

Despite Emily's protests, Aaron had insisted on paying for the food and almost had to wrestle his female colleague's card out of her hand to stop her.

After he had successfully paid for the meal, the male agent gulped as his gaze found the angry stare of the woman in front of him. He almost made to apologise before the profiler in him spotted the playful glint masked behind her fake anger.

"What?" He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Look, call me old fashioned or call me sexist if you really want. But I like to consider myself a gentleman, and I would never expect a lady in my company to pay for her own meal. Especially one, who's doing me favour, by keeping me company tonight."

"Now that you mention it, that is kind of sexist." The feminist in the female profiler responded, with a small chuckle. "But all the same, I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you, Sir."

Aaron couldn't fight of the slight grimace that overcame him at her use of the word 'Sir'. He knew she didn't mean anything by it and it really shouldn't bother him. But it did. For some reason he hated it.

Emily instantly noticed the change in her supervisor's expression, immediately realising what the issue was. "Sorry. I'm really trying to work on that. I honestly don't even realise I'm saying it."

"It's okay." He tried to assure her, offering her a soft smile, before his gaze dropped to the table.

"Hey." The woman reached across the table and rested her hand on top of his, waiting until he glanced back up at her, before continuing. "I don't mean anything by it. You know that don't you?"

"Yes." He answered honestly. "I know." His gaze fell to their hands. The warmth of her porcelain palm against his fingers was affecting him more than it should. He wanted desperately to lace their fingers together, but didn't want to scare her off with the intimate sign of affection. Not at least until he had knocked back a few more drinks and could realistically get away with blaming it on the alcohol if his actions backfired in his face. With that thought in mind, he pulled away from her touch and moved to stand up, noticing that they had both finished the drinks that they had ordered with their food. "I'll get us another drink."

"Oh no you don't." Emily swiftly shot up from her own seat. "You insisted on paying for the food, fine. But I invited you out for a drink tonight. The least you can do, is allow me to buy you that drink. So sit yourself down, Aaron."

The man was about to protest, until his given name fell from her lips. That made it twice now. Without a word, he sat back down, staring at the beautiful woman stood before him.

"So, same again?"

He nodded.

Emily winked at him, before turning and making her way over to the bar.

Hotch's heart jumped in his chest at the sight of her wink. He watched as she walked away unable, despite his best efforts, to stop his gaze from falling to her material covered ass. _Yeah, some gentleman you are._ He scolded himself as an afterthought.

Once Emily returned with the drinks, the agents fell into a comfortable conversation. A couple of hours passed and a few more rounds down, they were still talking away about anything and everything, never seeming to run out of topics to discuss.

The female profiler was careful to avoid mentioning Jack as much as possible knowing that it was going to be a sore subject for her boss, given the nature of which they had ended up going out drinking in the first place.

The conversation flowed effortlessly between the two and to any outside observers it would most likely seem as it the pair had been lifelong friends as they talked and drank and laughed and tentatively flirted for hours.

Things were at ease and light between them, but as usual Aaron Hotchner couldn't stop himself from allowing his past guilt to invade his mind and despite his fellow agent's protests, couldn't prevent himself from turning their conversation serious.

"No, I mean it. I am so sorry for the way I treated you, Emily."

"Oh come on Hotch, we nearly got through the entire evening without you dredging up the past. It's done. You've apologised a million and one times and I've forgiven you. Let's just put it behind us and move on."

"You're right. I'm sorry." He shook his head disapprovingly at his own actions. "But I'm a profiler. I just can't believe I couldn't see past my attraction to you enough to see how much I was hurting you."

"This is not putting it behind us and moving on." She chuckled quietly, in an attempt to lighten the suddenly darkened mood. "You know I really don't get it, though."

"Don't get what?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows. "I tried to distance myself from you because I couldn't handle my feelings for…"

"No, I understand that." She cut him off. "That's not what I meant."

"What is it then?"

"I'm sorry, but I just don't get your attraction to me. Not to the extent you describe at least." She sighed and offered the man sat opposite her a soft smile. "I'm nothing special, Hotch. I mean, look at me."

There was a short pause as their gazes locked onto one another, before Aaron spoke. "I am." He continued to stare intensely into the gorgeous brunette's eyes. She really didn't realise just how beautiful she was, inside and out. That fact in itself made her seem, if possible, even more desirable to him. "If only you could see yourself, the way I see you."

Emily blushed at both his comment and the way he was looking at her. This was not good. Her heart was not supposed to leap in her chest the way it was, not over this man. She wouldn't allow it. She couldn't allow it. Not too long ago, she had promised herself that, while she may be capable of forgiving him, and she was more than willing to admit that he she found him attractive, she would never allow herself to fall for the man that had hurt her so badly. That was a promise she had every intention of keeping at the time.

But recently it was proving more difficult than she had expected.

As he carried on gazing at her with clear lust in his darkened eyes, it was taking Emily every bit of willpower she could muster to refrain from launching herself at the man sat before her and latching her lips onto his. She knew that he had to be able to see the effect he was having on her.

With his eyes still fixated on her, Hotch knocked back the remaining liquid in his glass. "Would you like another drink?"

"It's getting late. We should really be getting home." _Before I do something I regret._ She added in her head.

He seemed disheartened by her response, but nodded in agreement all the same.

The drive back to Aaron Hotchner's apartment was very quiet. Emily had the radio playing low in the back ground but neither agent spoke a word to each other the entire ride.

Prentiss pulled the car up outside Hotch's residence, before killing the engine and turning to face her boss.

"What time shall I come and get you on Monday?" She inquired. "Is six early enough? Or do you need your car tomorrow?"

"Come inside for a coffee?"

Emily's eyes widened at the request. "Hotch, it's getting late. I should really…"

"Please." He interrupted, with a single worded plea.

The female agent would swear she could see the smallest amount of liquid building up in her boss' eyes, threating to escape at any moment. _Say no, say no, say no._ "Okay."

He offered her a genuine smile as they exited the car, before leading her up to his apartment.

Once inside Hotch made his way to the kitchen to make them some coffee, while Emily got comfy on the couch. The male soon joined her, with drinks in hands and for a long time the pair sat in silence, occasionally taking small sips from the hot beverages.

"Thank you, for this evening." Aaron finally spoke, placing his now empty coffee cup on the coffee table. "I stand by my original comment that you have the ability to cheer anyone up. Even someone as miserable as myself."

"You're welcome, it was fun." She beamed at him. "And once again, thank you for your flattery."

His eyes noticeably darkened as he stared intently into hers. "You really are beautiful, you know."

Emily had to fight the urge to gasp at the intensity of his gaze. She didn't need to be a profiler to know that he was thinking about kissing her. She could tell that he wanted to. But she knew that he hadn't drank nearly enough to act on it, not after what had happened the first time he had kissed her.

So this was up to her. He was making it clear to her what he wanted, but giving her the choice. Lean in and kiss him, or walk away and they would act like the moment never happened. That was her decision to make.

The brunette lady sighed, placing her own cup on the table, her eyes not leaving his as she did so. "I should go." Her voice told him, but her body remained sat on his sofa and her gaze began to flicker between he lust filled eyes and his slightly parted lips.

Before she was completely sure what was happening, Emily felt herself begin to lean towards him.


	24. Chapter 24

Before she'd even realised what she was doing, Emily closed the gap between them and pressed her lips softly against his. The second their mouths met, she knew that she had made a huge mistake. But she couldn't bring herself to pull away from him as he pushed his tongue inside her, his fingers tangling in her raven locks as he deepened the kiss.

She didn't want this. She had to stop before he took it to mean more than it was. As if in defiance to her thought process, a moan slipped from her lips as his mouth made an attack on her neck.

"Stop." She let out, somewhat breathlessly.

With all the will power he could muster, Hotch reluctantly released her hair from his hands and her neck from his mouth. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." She told him, her heartrate increasing further as she took in the intense look of arousal she saw in his eyes, coupled with his slightly swollen lips that had the smallest amount of blood escaping them. Had she bitten his lip? She must have. Something inside her was compelling her to throw all of her rational thoughts out of the window and to give in to the strange desire she had developed for him. Despite the way he had treated her, there was a part of her that wanted him, wanted to give herself to him completely and let him do with her whatever he pleased. That part of her was battling to take control and she had almost allowed it to. But a more dominant part of her was screaming at her to run. "I have to leave."

"Please, don't go." He spoke out, shakily, surprising himself with his own words.

Emily's jaw dropped open at the raw emotion she had heard in his voice. She hadn't expected such a pleading tone. "Hotch, I'm sorry. I know I kissed you, but I don't know why. I swear, I'm not trying to lead you on. I just… I don't understand what I'm feeling right now. But I know I can't deal with this. I have to leave."

With that said, the female profiler jumped up from the couch and headed for the door, before his broken voice stopped her in her tracks. "Emily, please stay." The woman spun around and her eyes widened at the sight of her normally stoic unit chief with tears slowly running down his cheeks. "Please."

He hadn't been joking about that 'needy drunk' thing after all. "Hotch, I can't. I…"

"I'm not expecting anything from you." He cut her off, leaping up from the couch and moving towards her, his eyes desperately pleading with her to stay. "I won't try to kiss you again, I promise. Just please… Please don't go. I know that you don't owe me anything. And I know how wrong it is for me to ask this of you. But please, stay. I don't want to be alone right now. I swear to you, I won't try anything. Please, trust me."

"I do. But I don't trust myself." She answered honestly, before she could talk herself out of it.

Hotch's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, unsure of what she meant.

Emily let out a long sigh. "Aaron, if I don't go right now, I know I'm going to wake up in your bed in the morning."

The unit chief's eyes widened, not only at her confession but also at the use of his first name. That never failed to take him by surprise. "I don't… I don't understand."

"Neither do I." She admitted. "I have no idea what is going on inside my head right now. It's as if I have a split personality. Honestly, a tiny part of me still hates you for the way you've treated me and never wants to forgive you for it. Another part of me, the most dominant part, just wants to move on, forgive and forget, and for us to have a normal, healthy 'boss and subordinate' relationship, and become really good friends. This is the part of me that usually takes charge. But recently, it's like I've developed a third personality. One that can't stop thinking about you. About kissing you and doing… other things. God, this part of me just wants you. And it's this third part of me that's fighting for control tonight. And if I don't leave, right now, it's going to win." She paused, observing the look of pure shock that washed over her boss' face. "I don't know if I can cope with the aftermath if I let that happen."

He nodded his head, keeping it hung in defeat and Emily's heart dropped at the sight.

What had this man done to her? Why did she crave to reach out and comfort him? To kiss away the tears? To fuck away the pain? She had to hold back a groan at the images that flooded her brain, of him roughly taking her right there on the sofa. She had to get out, now. She knew this and yet her legs failed her. They kept her halted near the door, her stare fixated on the broken male stood in front of her.

When his darkened gaze lifted to meet hers, Emily's heart leapt in her chest and she slammed her eyes shut, desperately trying to block him out. She knew she was reaching her limit and she wouldn't be able to resist him much longer.

Her eyes flew open as she felt his calloused fingers brush against the skin of her arm. How had he gotten so close, so quickly? "Hotch…" Her voice caught in her throat as she stared into his tear filled eyes.

Hotch offered her a half smile, before pressing his lips gently against her forehead. "It's alright, Emily. Go. I'll be fine." He tried to assure her, almost convincingly.

The female profiler stepped back from him and turned towards the exit, forcing herself to make her way to the door, knowing she had to leave. She risked a glance back at him, regretting the choice to do so, the moment she did it. "Aaron…"

"It's okay, Emily. Go." The unit chief cut her off, turning and making his way back to the couch, before flopping down heavily, bringing his hands to his head. He knew he couldn't watch her leave without breaking.

Emily Prentiss pulled open the door to his apartment, her gaze still trapped on her boss. She hovered in the doorway for what felt like a lifetime, before a growl ripped its way from deep inside her and she slammed the door shut again. "Fuck it!"

The brunette marched over rapidly to the lounging male and straddled him, crashing her lips to his fiercely. She thrust her tongue into the depths of his mouth as he moaned at the unexpected contact. The kiss was heated and passionate, a clash of tongues and teeth as the profilers battled to dominate each other.

Surprisingly to them both, it was Hotch who admitted defeat first, allowing Emily to take control as she kissed him deeply, lighting a fire inside him that he hadn't felt in years, if ever. He couldn't think straight as she pulled back for just a second to lift her shirt swiftly over her head, before smashing her lips to his once more, immediately invading his mouth with her tongue as she dropped the red garment to the floor.

Aaron's senses were on overdrive. His hands had somehow found their way to her hips, his thumbs reaching up to brush against her newly exposed flesh. An unexpected groan fell from his lips as she ground herself against his hardening manhood. He threw his head back at the contact and his eyes rolled back in his head.

Emily took full advantage of his actions, latching her lips to his neck. She varied between kissing, sucking and lightly nipping on his neck, earning more than one pleasurable moan from the nam beneath her.

After who knows how long, Aaron finally lifted his head from the back of the couch, meeting the gaze of the gorgeous woman on his lap, as Emily finished her attack on his neck. She offered him a seductive smile and suddenly the reality of what happening hit him.

"Emily, we shouldn't do…" His protest was cut short as she ground herself against him for a second time, drawing a loud moan from him.

"I know." She nodded in acknowledgment, before pressing a soft kiss to swollen lips. "We shouldn't." She gave him another kiss. "We really, really shouldn't." And another. "But we're going to."

She smirked as his eyes widened at her sudden confidence. She really was amazing and he wanted this, he wanted her so badly. But he didn't want it to happen like this. He knew that all this would be to her was a one night stand, one she would likely regret. But he wanted more than that. The man let out a long sigh, pushing gently against her shoulders. "No, we're not."

The raven haired beauty pouted. That's right, she sat on his lap pouting. What was going on with her? "See your mouth says that, but other parts of you seem to have other ideas." Her pout disappeared, replaced by a cheeky grin as she eyed his tented pants.

"I want to. You know I want to." He told her, gently caressing the skin on her arms. "But not like this."

"You mean, you wanna be on top?" She questioned with a devilish glint in her gaze. "I'm cool with that."

Aaron chuckled loudly at her comment. Despite the current awkwardness developing within him, she still had the ability to make him laugh. "You know that's not what I meant." He lifted a hand to cup her cheek, drawing her forward and pressing a firm kiss to her lips, before pulling away again. "You just told me that you wouldn't be able to cope with the aftermath of this. I care about you, Emily. I care about you a lot. I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have."

"Are you seriously turning me down right now?" Emily spat.

Hotch could hear a mixture of emotions in her tone. He sighed. "I don't want to. But you know I have to."

The female agent remained silent for a short time before offering her boss a small emotionless nod and removing herself from her spot on his lap. She quickly scooped up her shirt from the floor and threw it over her head, before flopping down on the couch next to Hotch. "Wanna watch a movie?"

Aaron stared at her incredulously, as she reached for the remote on the coffee table, flicking on the television.

"Oooo 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is on. I love that movie." She beamed, her gaze fixed on the television. "You mind watching that? Or do you wanna pick something else?"

"What are you doing?" He questioned, utterly confused.

"You got any popcorn?" She still didn't look away from the screen, as she spoke.

Hotch continued to stare at the woman sat next to him in awe. "Emily…"

"Or ice cream? I'm seriously craving ice cream right now."

Hotch sighed. "Emily…"

"Popcorn or ice cream? Wait, how about popcorn and ice cream?"

"Emily…"

"You said you didn't want to be alone." She explained, continuing to stare straight ahead. "Now, how about that popcorn?"

The male agent carried on gawking at her incredulously for a moment, before shaking his head in disbelief as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen. He returned moments later with a tub of brownie flavoured ice cream, two bowls and two spoons. "No popcorn, I'm afraid."

"As you're carrying ice cream, I shall forgive you just this once." She smiled up at him, before noticing the bowls in his other hand. "Bowls? And you claim to know me, Agent Hotchner."

Hotch looked confused as he returned to his place beside her on the couch. He let out a chuckle as she took the bowls from his hand, pushing them as far away from them on the coffee table as she could, as if they carried some sort of disease, before grabbing the tub of ice cream and one spoon from him. She popped the lid off the tub and placed it on the coffee table, before eagerly digging into the brownie flavoured goodness.

"If you want any of this, Sir, I'd get in quick. I can promise you it won't last long." Emily smirked, holding the tub out to him, her gaze returning to the movie.

Hotch's gaze, on the other hand, remained fixated on the beautiful woman on his couch, eating his ice cream. "You, Emily Prentiss, are amazing."

"I know."


	25. Chapter 25

Emily had spent the night at her boss' apartment. She fell asleep on the couch and Aaron covered her with a blanket, before making his way to his bedroom.

Despite his best efforts, the Unit Chief had found it impossible to allow sleep to consume him. His mind was on overdrive, thinking back through everything that had happened.

She had invited him out for a drink. She had spent her Saturday evening cheering him up. She had called him 'Aaron' again. She had agreed to come back up to his apartment. She had kissed him. She had been willing to sleep with him. She had stayed with him when he asked her too.

The optimist in him listed off all of these things, before the self-hating little bastard in the back of his mind, took over his line of thought.

She invited him out because she felt sorry for him. She spent her Saturday evening with him because she most likely had nothing better to do. She called him 'Aaron' because he whinged about her calling him 'Sir' again. She came back up to his apartment because he most likely looked like he was going to cry if she didn't. She kissed him because… well he wasn't sure why she did that, but it was clear she regretted it. She had been willing to sleep with him because she was confused about her emotions. And she had stayed only because he had broken down like a child and practically begged her not to leave him on his own.

His mind ran though the events of the evening over and over again, until the sun came up and Hotch heard movement coming from the lounge.

Things were slightly awkward between the two as they greeted each other that Sunday morning and they barely spoke a word when Emily drove Hotch to pick up his car.

Aaron really wanted to talk to the female agent about what had happened between them the entire ride over, but he refrained, unable to come up with exactly what he wanted to say.

"Thank you again, for last night." The male finally spoke as she pulled into the parking space next to his vehicle.

"You're welcome. I had a good time." Emily kept her gaze fixed ahead of her, staring out of the windscreen.

"I really appreciate you going out of you way to cheer me up and I'm really sorry for…"

"Let's not talk about it, Hotch." She cut him off, a wave of embarrassment flooding through her.

"Okay." The Unit Chief let out a long sigh, concern overwhelming him as she refused to cast a glance in his direction. "Things are okay between us though, aren't they?"

"Of course." Emily finally turned her head and offered him a small smile. "We're good. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

It wasn't the most convincing admission, but Hotch knew better than to question her. It was clear to him that she didn't want to talk about it and he had to respect that. "Okay. See you tomorrow."

* * *

Monday morning hadn't gotten off to the best start for Aaron Hotchner. Erin Strauss had dragged him into her office for a 'brief chat' that ended up lasting best part of two hours. He struggled spending lengthy periods of time in the presence of the Section Chief at the best of times. But first thing on a Monday morning, before he'd had a coffee and after a weekend of very little sleep, he was ready to beat his head against her office wall just ten minutes in.

She had 'bit picked' at him and his team for almost two hours, so it was fair to say that he wasn't in the best of moods when he left her office. That would most likely explain why he had bitten David Rossi's head off when the older profiler had informed him that Emily Prentiss had phoned in sick.

He had been with her the previous day and she seemed just fine. Rage flooded him at the idea that she was avoiding coming into work because she was embarrassed about what had happened between them over the weekend. A part of him was angry with himself for putting her in a position where she was too uncomfortable to come in and do her job. Another part of him was angry with her, however, as he considered her lack of professionalism in the situation.

It was with these thoughts in mind that the Unit Chief had ended up excusing himself from work and driving over to her apartment. He paced outside her door for a short while, trying to calm himself, before lifting his fist and knocking firmly on the solid wood. There was a small wait and then the door swung open.

"Hotch, what are you…?"

Without giving her chance to finish her inquiry, the male agent strode passed his subordinate into her apartment.

"Please, come on in." She let out sarcastically.

"Over eighteen months working for the BAU and you've not taken a single sick day." The male stated calmly. "If what happened this past weekend has made you feel uncomfortable around me, then we need to talk about it, because I need to know that I can rely on your professionalism when…"

Hotch's speech was cut short as the brunette female slapped her hand to her mouth and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Aaron's eyes widened in shock at the sound of retching come from the small room. He stood frozen for a moment, before snapping out of his confused daze and heading in the direction of the unpleasant sound.

He cautiously stepped inside the small white room, concern flooding him as he took in the sight of his subordinate emptying the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl of the toilet.

The male agent took hold of a hair bobble he spotted on the side and without a word gripped her raven locks into his hands gently, pulling her hair together and tying it up into a loose pony tail, before he exited the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen.

He returned moments later with a bottle of water in hand, gladdened by the fact that her heaving seemed to have eased a little. Kneeling down next to her, he began to rub soothing patterns on her back.

The pair stayed like this for a short while, until Emily was confident that she wasn't going to bring anymore fluids up for a little bit at least.

The female profiler slowly leaned backwards from the toilet, turning to rest her back against the adjacent wall, before pulling her knees into her chest, as her gaze locked on to the concerned stare of her boss.

"You really are sick." Hotch stated, more so as confirmation to himself, as he fully took in her lounge attire, ghost white complexion and reddened eyes.

Emily chuckled a little at his revelation, in spite of her ill state. "You really are some profiler, you know that."

Hotch smiled at her, despite the worry he was feeling, as he held out the bottle of water. "Here drink this, you need to keep yourself hydrated."

"Thank you, Dr Hotchner." The female spoke, accepting the drink and taking a few sips before returning her full attention to the man in front of her, shooting him a bit of a glare. "You know, I don't appreciate the accusation that I would skip work because of what happened between us. I was under the impression that you thought more highly of me than that?"

"I do." He informed her, hating himself for questioning her sickness at all. "I'm really sorry. I've had one hell of a morning with Strauss and I was already in a bad mood. I just misread the situation and once again acted like a jackass." There was a pause in the conversation before he continued. "I never should have doubted you, I know that. But you did seem off with me yesterday."

"I was embarrassed, Hotch." She answered honestly. "I threw myself at you and you turned me down."

"It wasn't that I didn't want to, Emily." He rushed to assure her. "You know how I feel about you. If you hadn't have told me, five minutes earlier, that you wouldn't be able to handle the aftermath afterwards, I probably wouldn't have had as much self-control. I only said no, because I thought you'd regret it."

"I know, but that doesn't make the situation any less embarrassing for me. That's why I was a little off with you yesterday. But you should have known that I would never let something like that effect my ability to remain professional at work."

"I know, I just wasn't thinking straight." He admitted. "I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"I'll consider it." She smirked slightly, holding her hands out for him to help her up.

Once on her feet, Emily washed her hands and face and rinsed out her mouth over the sink before attempting to exit the bathroom. She began to feel somewhat light-headed, as she made her way towards the doorway. This didn't go unnoticed by Hotch, who wasted no time wrapping an arm around her securely and assisting her with her journey to the couch.

The female agent settled down on the sofa, again pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly, as a violent shiver passed through her.

"Are you cold?" Hotch frowned at the sight of his poorly subordinate, before placing his hand to her forehead. "You feel like you're burning up a little."

"I'll be fine, Hotch honestly." She let out unconvincingly. "I just need to sleep it off. There's a lot of little 24 hour bugs going around at the moment. I expect I'll be fine by tomorrow."

Aaron wanted desperately to do something to help but he didn't know what. "Can I get you anything? I can make you something to eat if you like?"

"No. Thank you, but I'm really not up to eating right now." She told him, grabbing hold of the blanket that she had been wrapped up in before Hotch had come over.

The Unit chief sighed as he made his own way to her couch, before flopping down next to her, resting his right arm on the back of the sofa behind her head. "Okay, I won't force you to eat if you don't want to, but make sure you're drinking plenty of water."

"Yes, Sir." Emily sang out with a smirk as she took hold of the bottle he had handed her earlier and had a few more sips. "You can go, if you need to get back to work. I'll be fine, Hotch, honestly."

"I will in a minute." He informed her, before helping to wrap the blanket around her.

Against her better judgement, Emily took advantage of his movement and found herself cuddling up to her supervisor's side, as another shiver ran through her.

Aaron didn't hesitate to slouch back and wrap an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

Emily could feel herself beginning to drift off as Hotch embraced her tired and weak body. She let out a content sigh as his hand that wasn't holding her came up to lightly brush against her hair. "You make a really nice pillow." She mumbled out, before a big yawn escaped her.

Hotch chuckled quietly at that. "Try to get some sleep, Emily."

"Can't believe you saw me vomiting." Emily was so tired now, she wasn't even sure if she was speaking out load or inventing the conversation in her mind. She tried to open her eyelids, but they were too heavy to lift. "Do you still find me attractive now?" She somehow managed to ask sleepily.

She heard her boss snicker and felt him vibrate against her. "Yes, now get some sleep."

"You still think I'm pretty like this?" She mumbled softly, on the verge of nodding off.

Sick and sleepy Emily, was coming across a lot like Hotch would imagine a drunk Emily would be like. "Yes, I do. Now go to sleep, pretty girl."

The female felt the corners of her mouth tug up into a small smile, as she tried to snuggle impossibly closer to the man beside her. "Okay."

* * *

Emily Prentiss opened her eyes, surprised to find Aaron Hotchner still lounging on her sofa. She slowly lifted her head from his chest and glanced up at him.

"Hotch?" She inquired groggily as her vision came into focus. "How long have I been out?"

"A couple of hours." The Unit Chief answered, keeping his arm around her, but loosening the tightness of the grip enough for her to sit up.

"What are you still doing here? Don't you need to get back to the office?"

"I called Dave not long after you drifted off and let him know that a personal matter had come up that I needed to attend to. The BAU can survive without me for one day."

"Hotch, you really didn't have to do…"

"I know." He cut her off. "I wanted to. I wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine." She assured him with a soft smile. "You know, David Rossi is potentially the best profiler in the world. Aren't you worried he's going to figure out where you are?" She questioned tentatively.

"I imagine, he knows exactly where I am." The male informed her matter of factly. "Especially considering I bit his head off this morning when he told me you'd called in sick and then I stormed out of the office."

Her jaw dropped at the image. "Doesn't it bother you that he might work out how you feel about me?"

"He already knows. He literally figured it out on his first day back with the unit."

Emily's eyes widened at that piece of information. "Wow and… you don't care? That he knows, that is."

"No, why would I?" He let out a long sigh. "Emily, I'm done hiding and fighting the way I feel. I understand that you may never fully return my feelings and I'm okay with that. But I can't change the way I feel about you. I tried to fight it for ten months and I ended up really hurting you. I don't want to risk doing that again. I know I should, but I genuinely don't care who knows anymore."

She stared up at him in awe for a short moment, unsure of what to say.

"How are you feeling anyway?"

"Better." She answered honestly. "I still feel really drained and a little lightheaded, but I don't feel like I need to run to the bathroom and hurl. Not at the minute anyway. Oh god, I can't believe you saw me like that."

"Don't worry." He flashed her a reassuring smile, before jabbing her lightly in the side. "As we established before you fell asleep, I still think you're pretty.

"Nooooo. Did we actually have that conversation?" Emily held her head in her hands at the thought. "I thought I made that up in my head."

Hotch chuckled. "You're amusing when you're sleepy."

The female profiler elbowed her supervisor lightly in the side, offering him a smile, despite the small wave of embarrassment within her. "Hey, I wanted to ask, did you manage to speak to Jack yesterday?"

The Unit Chief grinned at the fact that even in her unwell state, Emily still had his and his son's well-being on her mind. "I did, yes and I've promised to make up for missing out on spending time with him by taking him to National Zoo this weekend coming up."

"Oh he'll love that. I used to love going to the zoo."

"Why don't you come with us?" Hotch questioned, without much thought to the offer.

"No, Hotch. I couldn't. I wasn't fishing for an invite when I said that."

"I know."

"I don't want to eat into your time with your son. Please don't pity my spinster lifestyle."

"Jack enjoys your company." He told her, before adding. "I enjoy your company. This isn't a pity invite, Emily. Either way, Jack and I will have a great time, but I imagine my son will be especially happy if 'Emmy' comes along. Please don't let that pressure you into accepting if you don't want to though. It's completely up to you. But the offer is sincere, if you would like to come."

In all honesty, Emily would have loved nothing more than to spend her Saturday at the zoo with Hotch and his son. But there was a little niggling feeling in the back of her mind that was holding her back from simply accepting the invitation without hesitation. "Look, the truth is, I don't want it to seem like I'm leading you on. I'm still really confused about my feelings for you. If I say yes to this, I'm accepting the offer to come along as your friend, Hotch. Nothing more."

"I know." He smiled softly at her. "I am extending the offer to you as a friend. Believe me, if I was attempting to romance you, I would hope you would expect more of me than a day at the zoo with an over-excited toddler."

Emily snickered quietly. "In that case, yes. Providing I shift whatever bug I have right now, I would love to come along to the zoo with you and Jack on Saturday."

"Perfect."


	26. Chapter 26

Hotch arrived at Emily's apartment early on Saturday morning. He tried to call her cell phone, but there was no answer, so instead made his way up to her apartment to greet her with his son by his side.

"Emmy!" The little boy shouted, as the female agent pulled open the front door.

"Hey Jack." Emily greeted, beaming down at the little boy.

"Up, Emmy." The child demanded, holding his arms out, giggling happily when the lady scooped him into her arms. He wrapped his little arms around her neck and spoke again. "Kisses?"

"Oh you want kisses?" She raised her eyebrows at him with a toothy grin. "How's this?"

A loving wave of happiness flooded through Aaron as he witnessed Emily pecking kisses all around his son's face, while the toddler laughed uncontrollably in her arms.

After a short while, the female profiler stopped and placed the boy down on the floor, before looking up at her boss. "Hey."

"Hello." Hotch smiled and held his arms open to the other agent, raising an eyebrow expectantly at her as he asked. "Kisses for me?"

Emily laughed as she embraced the male agent in a friendly hug, before whispering in his ear. "Behave yourself, Agent Hotchner. Don't make me kick your ass in front of your son."

"You wouldn't dare." He retorted and pressed a quick cheeky kiss to her cheek, before swiftly pulling back and picking up his son. "Come on Jack, let's get you back in the car."

A light blush tickled the woman's cheeks and she chuckled at his actions. "Hiding behind a two year old? I never took you for such a coward, Sir."

"I'm not hiding. I'm just excited to go to the zoo and don't want to be late." He defended, mocking innocence. "Isn't that right Buddy? We're excited to go to the zoo, aren't we?"

"Yeah, zoo." The cheery little boy replied from his father's arms. "Come, Emmy."

"Okay, I'm coming." The female profiler grinned at the handsome father and son. "I'm gonna grab my purse. Why don't you two gentleman go and get in the car and I'll lock up here and meet you down there?"

* * *

The morning flew by at the zoo. As soon as they had arrived Jack had demanded that he wanted to go and see the lions. So they made their way in that direction, stopping off to look at a lot of the other enclosures on the way.

Jack got somewhat impatient after coming to yet another exhibit that didn't contain any lions and decided to try and make his own way to the big cats. He slipped his hand out of his father's grip and took off running in completely the wrong direction.

"Jack, come back here now!" Aaron called out, chasing after his son, catching up with him fairly quickly and grabbing hold off the child's hand again. "You do not run off like that."

"Lions." Was the little boy's one word response as he frowned up at his Dad.

"The lions are this way."

"Lions." The toddler whined out, trying but failing this time to escape his father's hold.

"Jack we have to go this way."

"Lions!"

"I know a way we can get to the lions faster, Jack." Emily spoke out as she neared the pair. "Here, give me your other hand, Buddy."

Jack glanced up curiously for a while, at the woman offering out her hand, before taking it.

"Okay Hotch, are you ready?" Emily asked, staring up at her boss.

"Ready for what?" He questioned, confused by what she wanted him to do.

"We're going to swing Jack all the way to the lions."

Aaron smiled warmly at his subordinate as he realised what she wanted to do.

"One, two, three." Emily counted and then they swung the little boy forward, each taking hold of one of his arms. They continued this action all the way to the lion enclosure, laughing along with a happy giggling Jack.

Once there, Jack couldn't contain his excitement at the sight of the large cats. He pointed them out over and over again to both adults, as if they were unable to see for themselves without the toddler's help.

Emily made every attempt to match the child's excitement and if possible this only increased the boy's happiness.

Hotch watched on as Emily and Jack came up with names for the lions. They already had names of course, but he wasn't about to ruin their fun.

After finally convincing the little boy that they had other animals to see, they exited the lion area and headed in the direction of the Pandas much to Emily's excitement.

She walked hand in hand with Jack spouting off facts about Giant Pandas all the way, keeping the little boy's interest, even though he probably didn't have a clue what she was speaking about. It was hard not to be entranced by an excited Emily Prentiss, talking about something that made her happy. The smile on her face alone had Aaron's heart twitching in his chest.

After looking around at some more animals, Jack began to get a bit grouchy due to being tired. Hotch carried the small boy to a couple more exhibits, before deciding it would probably be best to call it a day.

He turned to the woman at his side. "I'm thinking we should grab some food and then head home, if that's alright with you?

"Getting tired, old man?" Emily teased.

"Of course I'm getting tired." He answered, lightly jabbing her in the side, with his free arm. "I've been dragged around for hours by an over excited child." He smirked at her before adding. "And by my son."

The female profiler laughed out loud at his comment. "I am not an over excited child." She nudged him playfully with her shoulder, before they made their way to the zoo restaurant.

Once inside, Hotch placed Jack down while he picked up a bottled drink for himself and juice carton and banana for his son, before heading towards the counter to order their food. He told the lady standing there what he and Jack wanted, before shifting his glance to the agent beside him. "Charge this through as well, please." He gestured to the drink in Emily's hand, before meeting the gaze of the beautiful brunette. "And what else do you want to order?"

"Hotch, what are you doing?"

"Do you not remember my rule from last Saturday, Emily Prentiss?"

The female's brows furrowed in confusion. "What rule?"

"The one where I don't allow a lady in my company to pay for her own meal."

"Ah yes. Your old fashioned, sexist rule. I remember now." She smiled at him, before turning to the cashier and letting her know what she wanted to order.

The lady behind the counter snickered at the pair, before putting through the requested order.

As she was ringing the items through the till, Emily noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Wow Jack, look at that huge fish tank. It's bigger that Dave's"

"Fishys!" As soon as the word left his mouth, the excited little toddler shot off in the direction of the tank.

Without hesitation, Aaron Hotchner burst into action and went chasing after his son. Due to his size, it took the father longer to dodge through the swarm of bodies than he would have hoped. He eventually caught up to the small boy, who had halted in front of the large fish tank, staring up into it with a look of awe.

"Jack, you do not run off like that." Hotch scolded firmly, coming down to the toddler's eye level. "If you want to come and see the fish then you have to ask me or Emily to go with you."

"Sorry Daddy." The child sang out, before pointing at the tank. "Look fishy."

Hotch couldn't help but beam at his happy son, as he scooped him up into his arms. "Come on, let go and get the food sorted and then we can have a proper look at the fish. Okay?"

"Okay Daddy."

Hotch arrived back at the counter to find Emily picking up all three drinks, the banana and the number card for the table. He smiled warmly at her. "Do you want to go find us a table and sit down while Jack and I pay and we'll be over in a moment?"

"Sure." The female profiler responded quickly, before scurrying off in the direction of an empty table.

Aaron then turned to the lady behind the counter and with his child free arm pulled out his wallet. Before he'd even had chance to pull out his card, his actions were halted by the worker.

"Sir, your girlfriend has already paid."

"Excuse me?" He questioned as if the lady had just spoken to him in another language.

"Your food, Sir. Your girlfriend has already paid for everything."

He nodded in understanding, before making his way to the table, getting Jack settled in a seat and then sitting down himself. "Emily?"

"Yes, Hotch."

"Did you just distract my son with fish, so that you could pay for lunch?" He asked sternly.

"Would I do such a thing?" Emily mocked innocence, while smirking over at her boss. "No, you just ran off and I had no idea how long you were going to be and there was a queue. I just didn't want to keep people waiting."

He chuckled, despite the small part of him that was genuinely annoyed that she hadn't allowed him to pay. "You distracted him on purpose."

Emily beamed across the table at the man. "You have no evidence of that."

"What about my rule?"

"Well see the thing is, I have my own rule, where when a gentleman saves me from spending another Saturday alone in my apartment and pays for me to get into the zoo, I have to treat him and his adorable son to lunch. So I didn't really have choice. I mean, why should your rule take priority over mine?"

"Because my rule is an actual rule I have, while you just made yours up." He huffed out. "Let me pay you back."

"Hotch, you bought me dinner last week, you've driven me here and paid for my ticket to get in. If for no other reason than to stop me from feeling like a freeloader, will you just let me pay for this lunch?"

"Emily, I invited you here." He assured her. "You're not a freeloader."

"Please, Aaron."

He let out a long sigh, before shaking his head slightly. "Fine."

Emily grinned, thrilled with herself.

It amused Hotch, how something as small as a victory over who paid for lunch, made her so happy.

After they'd eaten, Hotch took Jack to the restroom to change his tomato sauce covered clothes, while Emily tidied up the mess they'd made.

Jack, who was becoming very tired now, as the effect of running around the zoo for hours on end fully caught up with him, held his arms up to Emily after coming out of the restroom.

The woman wasted no time lifting the small child up and holding him on her hip before handing him the juice box he had barely touched during his meal.

"Jack! Be careful." Aaron attempted to warn his son, but it was too late.

As the toddler made to grab hold of the grape flavoured drink, he squeezed the carton too hard causing the juice to squirt out of the length of the straw and all over the top of Emily's tee shirt.

"Sorry, Emmy. Sorry Emmy." The boy rushed to apologise.

"It's okay, Jack." She assured him, before handing the child to his father and pulling at the neckline of the now sticky and stained white fabric, unsure of what to do.

"Emily, I am so sorry. Here, take some of these." Hotch apologised, holding out some baby wipes. "Use these to deal with the worst of it and I'll buy you a new shirt from the gift store. It's only next door."

"That's okay, Hotch, really. You don't have to..."

"Emily, you're going to be incredibly uncomfortable on the way home if you don't take that sticky shirt off. So unless you want to go home shirtless, which normally I would be all for, but today…" He trailed off casting a telling glance at his son.

A light blush fell across the female's cheeks. "Okay."

* * *

Inside the gift store, Emily headed in the direction of the tee-shirts, while Jack dragged his father towards the stuffed animals.

The little boy first pulled a female lion toy off the shelf about to hand it to his Dad, before he spotted a male one and picked that up too.

"Pick one quickly please, Jack." The father told his son. "We have to pay and get Emily a shirt so she can change out of her sticky one."

"Both mine."

"No Jack. You can have one."

"Two."

"One." Hotch stated firmly.

The toddler pouted as he slowly put the lioness toy back, staring up at his father with puppy dog eyes.

Before Aaron had a chance to say anything else to his son, Emily came into view holding onto two shirts. "I can't choose. Which do you think?" She questioned holding out a black tee with a large mandala style lion head on the front and a more simple white one with the National Zoo logo on one side of the chest and a small panda on the other side.

"Lion!" Jack screamed out excitedly, before Hotch could speak a word.

"I had a feeling, you might say that." Emily beamed down at the small boy. "Lion it is, I guess." She confirmed, before eyeing the white shirt again. "Although I do really like this panda one."

Hotch rolled his eyes and threw her a smirk. "Go ahead, get them both."

Emily grinned. "Are you trying to buy my affection, Agent Hotchner?"

"Would I do such a thing?" He shot her own earlier retort back at her teasingly.

Before Emily had a chance to respond, Hotch's attention was drawn back to his son, who had managed to grab a second stuffed lion off the shelf without either agent noticing. The little boy grinned up at the adults as he clung to both the male and female lion toys.

"Jack, I said one."

"Emmy got two." The little boy stated, with a pout.

Emily chuckled loudly at the little boy's response and his father's speechless reaction. "I tell you what, Jack. I'll buy you this one." She told him, taking hold of the lioness, before double checking with Hotch. "That is if you don't mind?"

"Well, Emmy got two." Hotch repeated his sons earlier comment. "How am I supposed to argue with that?"

"I can pay for the tee shirts as well, Hotch."

"Give them here." He ordered, rolling his eyes. "You may have won over the food, but you're not getting me to back down on this one. My son ruined your shirt and I'm going to replace it."

After they had paid and exited the gift store, Emily excused herself and changed into the black shirt with the lion on the front, much to Jack approval and then the threesome headed back to the car.

On the drive home, Jack had fallen asleep almost as soon as they had set off, clutching on tightly to his two new toys.

The conversation came easily to the two FBI agents on the journey back and there was barely a moment silence between them the entire ride.

Hotch pulled up outside Emily's apartment building and killed the engine, before turning to face the female profiler. "Thank you, for coming with us today. Jack has really enjoyed your presence. And the way you defused the temper tantrum that was about to unfold on the way to see the lions was very much appreciated."

"No, thank you. I have had a great time. I literally can't think of a way I would have rather spent my Saturday." She informed him with a grin.

"I'm really sorry about your shirt by the way."

"Oh don't worry. It's an old shirt anyway. I knew I was going to the zoo with a toddler so I dressed accordingly. Plus I ruined one of your shirts with coffee once, so we're even. Actually you replaced my ruined shirt with two new ones, so when you think about it, I actually owe you."

"Hmmm, that's very true." He teased, playfully. "Let's think, how can you possibly make it up to me?"

"I could buy you a new shirt?" She suggested.

"You could." He nodded, before counter offering in a flirtatious tone. "Or let's just leave it as you owe me for now and I'm sure we can think of something that you can do for me in the near future."

Emily smiled at his playful demeanour and flashed a quick glance to the back of the car to ensure that Jack was still asleep, before returning her gaze to the man in the driver's seat and whispering. "How about a blowjob?"

Aaron's eyes nearly leapt from their sockets and his face flushed a deep shade of red at her unexpected proposal. "Emily!" The flustered male shot his own panicked look in the direction of the back seat, calming slightly when he confirmed that his son definitely was sleeping.

At his reaction, Emily found herself bursting into a fit of laughter. She tried to keep quiet, due to the small sleeping child in the back of the car, as her red faced supervisor continued to stare at her, wide eyed. Her laughter came to a sudden stop when he finally found the voice to respond.

"Deal." He announced, smirking at her sudden drop in confidence. "Some other time though, when we're alone."

Emily chuckled nervously, before shaking her head. "Keep dreaming, Hotchner."

"I imagine I'm going to."

"Aaron!"

"What? Don't blame me. You started it." The Unit Chief defended. "You can't put an image like that in my head and expect me not to think about it."

"And here I was thinking you were a gentleman." She shook her head in fake disappointment.

"I am." He told her, before adding with a wink. "Most of the time."

Their gazes remained locked onto one another for a moment, before Emily felt that recent all too familiar tug on her heart strings and forced herself to look away. "I better let you two get home. Thanks again, Hotch I had a lot of fun. I'll see you on Monday. Give Jack a kiss from me."

With that said the female exited the vehicle and headed towards her apartment, stopping and offering Hotch a wave, one that he returned, before carrying on in the direction of her home.

Aaron Hotchner continued to watch her until she disappeared inside the building, before he turned to his sleeping son in the back of the car. _A kiss from Emily_. He thought. _Lucky kid_.

* * *

 **Hey. Sorry guys, I know it's been a couple of days, but this chapter simply did not want to be written. I really struggled to get this one done and it's been a bit rushed in the end. Cheers again for all your reviews and support with this story. I do appreciate it.**


	27. Chapter 27

"Emily, Garcia needs us down in her lair." The voice of the communications liaison pulled the profiler from her paperwork.

Without much thought, Emily got up from her desk and headed with JJ in the direction of their friend's office.

Once inside the screen filled room, the female profiler was forcibly sat down on a chair by her two blonde co-workers.

"Okay, Agent Prentiss." Penelope began. "Talk."

"What? What's going on?"

"That's exactly what we want to know." Garcia told her, rolling a chair closer to her brunette friend, taking a seat and staring into her eyes. "What is going on between you and boss-man?"

Emily's jaw dropped. Had they really been that obvious? "Nothing. I…"

"Oh please." The tech girl cut her off. "JJ and I may not be profilers, but we have eyes. Do you seriously think we don't see the way you look at each other? Or, how about we talk about what I walked in on in his office the other week?"

"Wait, what did you walk in on?" JJ questioned, her eyes widening at the comment.

"Oh, only our raven haired beauty practically pressed up against our half-naked Unit Chief. I'm around ninety nine percent sure they were about to do it on his desk."

"Oh my god!" JJ exclaimed.

"Garcia! That is not what happened!" Emily rushed to defend. "I spilled a cup of hot coffee on him and he took off his shirt to change when you walked in."

"And you just stood and watched?" the communication's liaison asked teasingly.

"Yes. Wait, no." The profiler felt herself getting flustered. "It all happened really fast. I was in the process of apologising. I didn't know if I'd burnt him and I was worried about his clothes being stained and then he just started stripping his clothes off. He caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting him to do that and I kind of just froze staring at him."

The blonde duo chuckled at their friend's defensive ramble.

"Stop laughing at me." Emily demanded. "Look I am willing to admit that I may have been staring at him a little longer than is socially acceptable, however what happened in there was an accident and I can assure you that under no circumstances were we about to have sex in Hotch's office."

"Okay, maybe I believe you, but now I'm curious. What's he hiding under all those suits?" JJ inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, from what little I saw, our boss man is in excellent shape." Garcia announced with a grin. "I mean, he has nothing on my sculpted god of chocolate thunder, but man I can understand why Em was drooling over him."

"I was not drooling."

Once again the blonde ladies burst into laughter.

"Okay, I'm leaving. I have work to do." Emily made to stand up, before her hand was grabbed and Garcia pulled her back down.

"No, come on. I'm sorry. Don't go." She pleaded. "We'll behave. I believe your rendition of what happened in his office that day. There, happy? Although if we were to make this into a book the version in my head of what went down would sell a lot more copies."

"Penelope." JJ warned, as she actually wanted answers from their brunette friend.

"Ok, I'm sorry." The technical analyst pouted, before smirking naughtily. "Fine, explain this one though. Why is it that every time you call in sick, our boss disappears from the office? To look after you I assume?"

"What do you mean every time? That only happened once!"

"So it did happen?" Penelope grinned, Cheshire cat style, as she began to seem as if she may explode from excitement. "Mr BAU himself left work to take care of you?"

 _Shit_. "Fine, yes, he did. But only because he thought I was avoiding him. He didn't believe I was ill. And when he found out I was, I think he felt guilty about doubting me so he hung around to help me out."

"Why would he think you were avoiding him?" JJ questioned. "Seriously Em, is there something happening between the two of you?"

Emily threw her head back and let out a huff of annoyance. "No. I don't know. Maybe."

"Oh my god, I knew it!" Garcia exclaimed happily, clapping like a performing sea lion. "Oh I haven't been able to stop thinking about the beautiful children you guys are going to have since the day…"

"Garcia stop!" Emily cut her off. "It's not that simple."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't really know how I feel about him. I'm so confused." The brunette shook her head and let out a long frustrated sigh.

"Why would he think you were avoiding him?" JJ repeated her earlier inquiry. "He hasn't been treating you…?" She trailed off unsure how to finish.

"No, he's been the perfect gentleman."

"Then what's the issue? We know he's into you. If you have feelings for him, then what's holding you back?"

"Wait, how do we know he's into her?" Garcia questioned her blonde friend.

"Because he told me." Emily responded simply.

"Oh… Wow."

"Yeah." Emily let out a sigh, before the room fell into silence.

After a long pause Garcia finally spoke again. "So if he is interested in you and you're interested in him, then I really don't get it, Gumdrop. What's the problem?"

The brunette cast glances between her blonde friends, wishing desperately that they would just let it go. But she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none, so instead released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding and explained. "There's more than one problem. Most of them are tiny things that normally I would be willing to overlook. But the one big thing I can't get passed is the fact that we work together. I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin the dynamics of this team."

"But, Em." JJ offered. "If you have genuine feelings for each other, isn't it worth a shot? I understand the negative aspect. But, you can easily twist the fact you work together into a positive. I mean, how often is it that we come across somebody who understands our dedication to this job and who doesn't have an issue with the long hours we work? You and Hotch would never have to worry about that."

"She's right." Garcia beamed at her friend. "Besides I wouldn't worry about the dynamics of the team either as we all already thought you were together. And do we seem unhappy by the idea? Even Reid picked up on it."

"What?" Emily exclaimed her eyes widening at the revelation.

"Come on, Emily. You're surrounded by profilers." JJ told her. "If Garcia and I noticed, what do you think the chances are that the guys didn't?"

"But how? When?"

"Let's just start with the way Hotch reacted when he thought you were inside the building when the bomb went off." JJ offered in explanation. "I mean we were all worried, but I've never seen Hotch look that broken and with his emotions so unguarded before."

"He feels responsible as our team leader." Emily argued. "He'd have acted exactly the same if it had been any one of us in that building."

"Wow." JJ breathed out. "You really are in denial."

Garcia spoke next. "What about the fact that you offered to look after Jack, when Haley was threatening to keep him away from Hotch? Yeah, Morgan told me about that. And we all saw how good you were with Jack at Dave's shindig. Not to mention, the way our fearless leader couldn't keep his eyes off you all night. I'm serious. You should have seen him watching you and Jack by the fish tank. I half expected him to drop down on one knee and propose right there and then. Do you really expect a team of profilers not to pick up on this stuff? Reid and Morgan were sat right next to us watching the scene play out."

"And you have to be aware of the flirtatious glances you throw each other around the office?" The communication liaison added, with a raised eyebrow. "Do you really think nobody has been noticing?"

"Top it all off, with the way he disappeared like the flash when he heard you were sick… do I really need to keep going?" The tech girl questioned. "Or is it sinking it yet why we might all be under the impression that you're already a couple?"

"But, we're not…" Emily began, unsure what else to say, completely taken by surprise by what she had just learned.

"But you could be." JJ informed her with a warm smile. "That's the point we're trying to make. You're worried about how the rest of us would react, but don't you see? All five of us already thought that you were romantically involved and it hasn't affected the dynamics of the team at all."

"It's not just about what you guys think, though." The profiler shook her head and sighed. "What if it doesn't work out? Things would get awkward for all of us. And look, I don't want to hold the past against him, but Hotch wasn't the nicest of people towards me when I first joined this team. If we try a relationship and it falls to shit, I don't think I could cope if things went back to the way they used to be between us."

"He wouldn't do that again, Em." JJ tried to assure her.

"You can't be sure of that."

Garcia's eyebrow furrowed at the fact that Hotch had been unpleasant to Emily. She knew that they hadn't gotten along great at first, but she hadn't realised there had been a real issue between the pair. She refrained from questioning the brunette, deciding that whatever had happened was in the past and would only be likely to upset her friend if she was forced to reveal the information in that moment. "Just think about it, okay? You two would look so good together. And in case you haven't already, I'm going to say it one more time, just imagine the beautiful children."

Before Emily had a chance to respond, a loud knock on the door to the technical analyst's lair, pulled all three ladies from their conversation.

"Oh, that will be Kevin." Garcia announced, happily. "He usually pops down, around this time of day. Wanna see grown man blush to the colour of a tomato?" She said quietly, before raising her voice to call out in the direction of the door. "Enter if you dare, and as always my sweetness, pants are optional!"

The door opened swiftly and Garcia's smirk fell and her jaw dropped, as the person who had knocked entered the room.

"Section Chief Strauss." The analyst greeted, with wide eyes. "Ma'am… I'm sorry… I… I think it's safe to assume that I was not expecting it to be you stood on the other side of the door."

Erin Strauss threw an annoyed glare in the direction of the flustered blonde, before turning her attention to the brunette profiler. "Agent Prentiss, I was informed that you might be down here. I would like to speak with you in my office."

Emily's eyes widened to the size of saucers. She hoped beyond all hope that the section chief hadn't heard any of their conversation about her confusing relationship with her boss.

"You don't have to look so concerned, Agent." Strauss told her, obviously taking in the look of panic embedding across her features. "You're not in any trouble, I simply need your assistance with an important matter."

"Oh, okay." Without another word, the shook up profiler followed the intimidating woman to her office.


	28. Chapter 28

Later that week…

Aaron Hotchner just had a feeling that he was going to have a bad day. Emily hadn't seemed her usual happy self all morning and before he had chance to question her on it, Erin Strauss had decided to park herself in his office.

The unexpected meeting seemed to drag on forever and Aaron had at first been overjoyed by the intruding knock that came to his office door, unaware of the conversation that was about to unfold.

Without waiting for an invite, Emily Prentiss entered her supervisor's office after knocking.

"Sir, I'm so sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid this can't wait." Emily spoke firmly as she stepped into the room, not waiting for either of her superiors to respond before she continued. "I'm handing in my letter of resignation from the BAU, effective immediately."

Hotch's eyes widened to the size of saucers and his jaw nearly hit the floor. "Prentiss…"

"Please don't try to talk me out of it, Sir. I've made up my mind." She offered him a teary eyed smile. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Agent Hotchner." Admittedly that hadn't always been the case, but in recent months it was true. "This team is _very_ lucky to have you." She added and the way her gaze shifted to Erin Strauss for a split second didn't go unnoticed by the unit chief.

What has she done? Aaron wanted to demand answers from the bitch, but refrained for the time being. "Prentiss, I think that's a mistake."

Before the brunette had chance to say anything in response, JJ poked her head around his office door and announced that they had a case and were needed in the conference room.

The Section Chief made it clear that she wasn't happy about having her conversation cut short, but agreed to reschedule at a later date, before excusing herself from the office, casting a curious glance in Emily's direction as she left.

"Emily…"

"I'm sorry Hotch. I can't do this right now. I have to go." Before giving him a chance to question her on her unexpected life-changing decision, the female profiler ran from his office and quickly grabbed some things from her desk, before she fled the bullpen.

All Hotch could do was stand staring in shock for a moment, before in a daze, he made his way to the conference room, finding the rest of his team sat waiting for him.

"What's the case?" He questioned to nobody in particular, his gaze fixed on the door, as if expecting her to walk back in at any moment and say it was all just a joke.

The communications liaison handed him a file, before asking. "Shouldn't we wait for Emily?"

"She quit." He spoke out quietly.

"What!?" Rossi, Morgan, JJ and Reid shouted out in unison.

"Why?" JJ was the first to inquire.

"I don't know." Hotch answered, glancing around at his teammates. He had been hoping one of them may have had some answers.

"What did you do this time, Aaron?" Dave questioned, accusingly, glaring up at his friend.

"Nothing. I…"

"Come on, man." Morgan interrupted angrily. "Everyone can see that there's been something going on between the two of you. Were you guys romantically involved? Did it end badly?"

"No." Hotch shifted his confused gaze between his co-workers. He couldn't believe they all thought that this was his fault. Although given his past mistakes, he knew he shouldn't have been all that surprised. "We're not dating, nor have we been. I don't know why Emily handed in her notice this morning, but I assure you, I had nothing to do with it. I think Strauss may be involved."

A brief silence filled the room, before Dave asked the question everybody was thinking."Why would Erin want Emily off our team?"

"I don't know, but I have every intention of finding out." After quickly glancing threw the file in his hands, Hotch handed the papers back to JJ. "You take over here and I'll catch up on the plane. Wheels up in two hours."

"Where are you going?" Reid asked from his seat.

"I'm going to get her back."

* * *

Emily let out a long sigh as she took in the sight of her boss, correction, her former boss through the peephole. She opened the door and he immediately strode passed her into the apartment. She should have known he wouldn't let it go that easily. The female agent closed the door before turning to face him. "Hotch, what are you doing here?"

"We have a case. You weren't at the briefing." He spoke matter of factly.

"I quit." Emily rolled her eyes at the man stood before her. Why did he have to come here? Why did he have to make this even more difficult than it already was?

"Your resignation is still held up in the system, so technically, you're in derelict of duty."

The female huffed out in annoyance. "So what are you going to do about it, Hotch, fire me?"

"What has Strauss got on you?"

"I'm sorry…?"

"Emily you fought to keep this job for months while I treated you like shit. You put up with ten months of being made to feel unwanted and unappreciated, because this job is important to you. If it wasn't you would have handed your notice in a couple of months after you started."

"How is that relevant now?"

"It's relevant because you've fought to keep your position for so long, why give up now? It doesn't make sense. Tell me what she's done and I will help you fight it. If she's blackmailing you, you can't let her get away with it. What dirt does she have on you?"

"She doesn't have anything on _me._ "

Her change in tone on the word 'me' told Hotch all he needed to know. "She's after dirt on me." He announced out loud, more to himself than Emily.

"I told you, not long after I started working for you, I hate politics." Emily shook her head at the situation. "Looks like you were right all along, my arrival at the BAU was too good to be true. She put me on your team as a favour and now she expects something in return and with her connections if I don't do what she asks of me, she can make me un-hireable in my field. Walking away on my own terms is the only way we can protect your career and I can still get another job doing what I want to do. I refuse to whisper in her ear, but she can ruin me, Hotch. I can't let that happen."

"No. She can't get away with this." Hotch could feel the rage flooding within him. Erin Strauss had always been a pain in his ass, but she had always, at the very least, had the decency to stay away from his team and just pick on him. Coming after Emily was going too far and he wouldn't allow it. He couldn't allow it. "I will fight tooth and nail to keep both of our careers. Strauss has many political connections, yes, but so do I. You put up with so much from me when you first joined this team. Please don't give up so easily now."

"I have to."

"No you don't. Come back to us, Emily. Come back to me."

There was long pause while Emily thought over everything he was saying, before she spoke again. "I don't know, Hotch…"

"Emily, please."

"What if I told you, we could happen now?" She asked him, taking a step closer.

"Excuse me?" The male agent's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"We could give a relationship a shot. I've tried, but I honestly can't ever see myself giving it a go while we work together. That's why my feelings are all over the place. I want to try, but I can't do it, not while we're colleagues. But if we don't work together anymore, Aaron. There's nothing else stopping us."

Hotch froze before her. He could have Emily Prentiss as his own, the woman he had lusted after for over a year and a half. She was telling him right there and then that if she came back to work for him, they would most likely never stand a chance of having a romantic relationship. But if he let her go, let her give up on the job she loved, they could try. "No."

"I'm sorry…?"

"Emily, I'm falling for you and I want to have you by my side for the rest of my life. I want you, you know that. But if working together means that all I can ever have from you is friendship, then friendship is what I will take. I can live without you romantically, but I can't live without you on our team. You belong in the BAU and everybody on the team loves you, Emily. We're a family and I know how much this job means to you. I won't let you give up on your career for mine."

"Aaron…"

"Please, let me worry about Strauss. She's not as untouchable as you think and I won't let her do this to you." He promised, taking a step closer to the other profiler, gazing intensely into her brown eyes. "Emily, I want you on that plane with me. I need..."

He was cut off as a pair of soft lips pressed gently against his own. Hotch stood frozen in shock and before he had a chance to respond to the unexpected kiss, she had pulled away from him.

"What was that for?" He asked, incredulously.

"Well… kissing you is not going to be appropriate behaviour when we're working together again, so I thought I'd take my chance to do that while you're not officially my boss." She smirked cheekily at him.

He grinned from ear to ear. "That means you're coming back to the team?"

"Yes. I…"

This time it was Emily who was silenced, as Hotch wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and forced their lips together. Unlike the sweet kiss Emily had offered up, this one was heated. The male profiler wasted no time pushing his tongue into Emily's mouth as she gasped at the contact. He kissed her passionately and desperately, reveling in the fact that she didn't hesitate to kiss him back with equal amounts of passion and desperation.

"What was that for?" She repeated his earlier question, when they finally broke apart.

"You told me that if we're working together we most likely wouldn't have a chance at a romantic relationship. Like yourself, I'm taking advantage of a situation where I'm not your supervisor. Problem?"

"No." She beamed. "No problem at all."

The female agent grabbed hold of the man's tie, harshly using it to pull him forward, before sealing their mouths together again. Her tongue lightly brushed against his bottom lip and he gladly parted his lips allowing her entrance.

Aaron found his hands wrapping around her waist, eagerly forcing their bodies flush against one another as they continued to make out. The pair shared tender kisses for a few moments longer, before Hotch found himself checking his watch, frowning as he noticed the time.

"We have to go. We have a case."He announced, resting his forehead against hers.

Emily let out a small snicker. "Wow, you really know how to talk dirty to a girl."

He smirked and pressed one more, gentle kiss to her swollen lips, then another to her forehead, before reluctantly stepping back from the beautiful brunette.

Emily sighed. "You know this can't happen again. Not once we're officially back to being co-workers." She told him.

"Okay." Hotch continued smirking and rolled his eyes, before leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to her lips.

"I mean it." Emily chuckled and lightly smacked the male's chest.

"Whatever you say, Agent Prentiss." The man spoke out sarcastically.

"Aaron!" The female profiler couldn't contain her laughter, despite meaning what she was saying. "I'm being serious."

The male agent nodded. "Fair enough. No more kissing. As long as you promise not to quit again, I can live with that rule." He offered her a small smile, before adding confidently with a wink. "When you change your mind though, I'll be eagerly waiting."


	29. Chapter 29

It was late on a Thursday afternoon and Hotch was down in the bullpen perched against Prentiss' desk as he discussed their most recent case with the team of profilers.

"Aaron, I need to talk to you." A female voice pulled him from his line of thought.

 _Oh shit._ "Right now?" The Unit Chief frowned. "Haley, I'm in the middle of…"

"Yes, right now." Without another word, the angry woman made her way up to her ex-husbands office.

He really needed to talk to security about her being allowed to just waltz on up to the bullpen as and when she pleased. He could only assume it was because they recognised her as his 'wife'. Hotch excused himself from the group before following in the direction of the blonde. Once inside the office, he closed the door behind him, his glare hardening as he came to a halt in front of her. "What is it, Haley?"

"You have some explaining to do." His ex-wife spoke through gritted teeth, pulling a sheet of paper out of her large black purse.

"What's that?"

"It's a picture Jack drew at his play group this morning." She offered the paper to him as she spoke and he took hold of it.

"That's how Jack draws people." Hotch stared at the picture with a confused expression presenting itself across his features. "You're hassling me at work because our son is drawing pictures of people at play group?"

"The kids were asked to draw their families."

The male eyed the picture again. "There are five people in the picture. Assuming that one is Jack, one is you and one is me, who are the other two?"

"An excellent question, Aaron. The exact same one I asked Jack and would you like to know what he said?" There was a pause, while Haley waited for Aaron to respond. She continued when he made no attempt to speak. "He said 'Mike and Emmy'."

Hotch's eyes widened at the revelation.

"Now I can understand why he drew Michael. I have never tried to hide our relationship from you. He and I are dating and Jack spends a lot of time around him. That's not to say I would ever allow Michael to try and replace you as the main father figure to Jack. You're his Dad, Aaron and I would never try to push that role from you. But it's understandable that our son would consider Michael as a part of his family. The question is, why does he think of 'Emmy' as family? Because I'm struggling to come to terms with the idea that SSA Aaron Hotchner, who wouldn't drag himself away from his precious job for five minutes for his wife and son, would risk his career to have a relationship with his subordinate."

"We're not in a relationship." Aaron argued. "She's a friend, a very good friend, who I spend time with outside of work. And yes, Jack has spent time with her too. But we are not dating." _Despite my best efforts_. The man added in his head.

"If there's another woman around raising my son, then I have the right to know about it. I had the decency to make you aware of my relationship with Michael from day one. I am asking that you do me the same honour."

"I am not in a relationship with anybody, Haley. Jack isn't even three years old yet. The situation is most likely confusing for him. He sees his mom spending time with a man and begins to consider him as family. He sees his dad spending time with a woman and begins to consider her family. Jack isn't at an age where he can clearly see the difference between a romantic relationship and a platonic one."

"Tell me you didn't start this before we broke up?" The blonde questioned angrily, as tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. "Is she the reason you were always here so late?"

"No! I was here late because I had work to do and I consistently remained faithful to you every single day of our marriage." Hotch hissed out, livid at the accusation that he had cheated on her. "What part of 'Emily Prentiss and I are not in a romantic relationship' is not getting through to you?"

"I know when you're lying to me, Aaron. A wife always knows. I know we're not married anymore but that doesn't change the way I can read you."

"I'm not lying!" Hotch screamed. "I am not in a relationship with Emily Prentiss. I am not in a relationship with anybody. I am a sad, lonely, divorced old man. Is that what you need to hear, Haley? It's the truth, okay? Happy?"

The female let out a long sigh, before taking a step towards her ex-husband. "Look me in the eye and swear to me that you have no romantic feelings for _her_ whatsoever."

The way he shifted his gaze away from her, before closing his eyes in defeat, told Haley all she needed to know.

A gasp escaped the teary eyed blonde as her suspicion of her ex-husband's feelings were confirmed, before she swiftly fled the office, slamming the door behind her harshly after she exited.

As she ran down the steps, her glare caught onto the curious gaze of Emily Prentiss. Haley could deal with Aaron moving on. She couldn't expect him to stay single forever. That wasn't what was bothering her about this situation. No, what was tearing her up inside was that he had fallen for his subordinate, an action that could well lose him his precious job. Twenty years of marriage and he wasn't willing to give up on his career for her, but he would risk it for this woman. What made Emily Prentiss so special?

"Are you and Aaron in a relationship?" Haley found herself questioning the brunette angrily as she came to a halt at the female profiler's desk.

"Excuse me?" Emily gawked incredulously at the unexpected question.

"Please." The blonde spat, through gritted teeth. "Just tell me the truth. I've heard what Aaron has to say and I will believe whatever you tell me now. Just give me your word that you and my ex-husband are not dating."

The brunette glanced around the bullpen, taking in the confused and curious expressions of not just her team members, but also some of the other bureau employees, before returning her gaze to the angry blonde. "Not that I owe you anything, but sure, you have my word that I am not dating your ex-husband."

Haley seemed to calm at the brunette's confirmation of Aaron's story. "And can you promise me that you have no intentions of starting a romantic relationship with him?"

Emily scoffed at the request, as her eyebrows furrowed into an expression halfway between anger and shock, before answering honestly. "No. I cannot promise that."

The blonde's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Before she had a chance to respond though, the voice of her ex dragged her attention away.

"Haley, you can't come in here and start harassing my agents." He glared down at the blonde, making his way down the steps to the bullpen. "If you want to discuss this further, then come back up to my office."

"No Aaron, I want to discuss it right here!" She announced, waving her arms around at the large space of the bullpen. "According to you, you have nothing to hide. So what's the issue?"

"The issue is that you are causing a scene in my place of work. So either come back to my office and we can talk about this calmly, or I will have security remove you from the building."

The blonde scoffed and went to argue, before taking in the seriousness in her ex-husband's glare. She knew that he would do it, if she pushed him. She nudged passed him and ran up to his office, keeping her back turned once she was inside, waiting for the door to slam shut, before she spun around to face him. "I don't want your girlfriend anywhere near my son."

Hotch closed the blinds in his office, to block out the prying eyes from the bullpen. "For the last time, Haley, Agent Prentiss is not my girlfriend. But even if she was, I'm sorry, but my personal life is none of your business anymore."

"Of course it's my business! I have a right to know who is spending time around my son. I have to know if I can trust them."

Aaron scoffed. "You trusted her enough with Jack, when you had to rush off to your date with Michael."

"That was before I knew that the two of you were romantically involved."

"What difference does it make, Haley? You trusted Emily with Jack when it was convenient for you. You made a decision that day, to trust her to look after our son, rather than postpone your date and wait for me to get out of my meeting. You had no idea whether I trusted Emily around Jack, whether I liked her or hated her. You didn't care, as long as you got to go on your date."

"Don't Aaron! Don't you dare try and turn this around on me!"

"I don't need to." He told her matter of factly. "You're turning it on yourself. You're the one who said you don't trust her, so answer that question for me, Haley. Why did you trust her enough to look after Jack when you had no idea if I trusted her or not, but now you know that I trust her around him, regardless of whether my feelings are romantic or platonic, why do you suddenly not trust her? What difference does it make? I have made no issue with regards to your relationship with Michael. Do you think it's easy for me to think of my son spending five days a week being raised by another man? But I trust that you would never bring anybody unsuitable around our little boy. Why can't you do the same for me?" Hotch paused, before adding. "Emily and I are not dating. I will be completely honest with you right now. Yes, I have feelings for her, romantic feelings that I don't believe she returns. I enjoy her company outside of work and Jack enjoys spending time with her. I will try and explain to him that Emily is not his family and that she is not to me, what Michael is to you, if it will make you feel better. But I refuse to stop spending time with her at your request and I will not keep Jack away from her. I would never ask you to keep anyone away from our son, unless I had a logical reason. Give me one good reason, why Emily shouldn't be around Jack. If you can do that right now, I will take this concern of yours seriously. But if you can't, I need you to leave, because I have a job to get on with."

"Oh, of course!" Haley spat. "We can't have you taking five minutes away from the precious BAU, can we?"

"Haley…"

"No Aaron, because here's the part that makes absolutely no sense to me! This is the part that hurts! I begged you to give up this job and spend more time with me and with your son. And you wouldn't do it! You couldn't give up your career for me. So, why the fuck are you willing to risk giving it all up for her?"

Without even thinking about the words about to leave his lips, he answered, surprising both his ex-wife and himself with his response. "Because unlike you, she would never ask me to."

* * *

Emily Prentiss found herself staring up from the paperwork she had been pretending to work on, when her supervisor's office door flew open for the second time and an even angrier, teary eyed Haley Brookes came storming down the staircase. This time the blonde didn't even glance in Emily's direction as she made a speedy exit through the bullpen.

The female profiler was in two minds over what to do next. Half of her knew that Hotch would likely be in a bad mood and wouldn't want to talk about whatever had just happened, so felt she should give him time to calm down before approaching him. But the other half of her wanted to run straight up to his office a demand answers right away. After a few moments of deliberation, she shot up from her seat and made her way swiftly into his office, closing the door behind her.

"What was that all about?" Emily questioned calmly, as she stared down at her boss, sat behind his desk clutching a piece of paper.

"This." Was his on word answer, as he held said piece of paper out to her.

The female agent approached his desk and took hold of the offered item, noting it to be a drawing, most likely one of Jack's. "I don't understand."

"Jack was asked to draw a picture of his family." Hotch responded, standing up from his seat and making his way to stand beside her. "This is what he drew. It's him, Haley, Michael, me and you."

Emily gawked in surprise at the picture as she handed it back to her boss. Her initial reaction was one of warmth at the thought that the little boy thought so much of her. But then she realised what Haley must have made of the drawing. "So that's why she thinks we're together?"

The Unit Chief nodded.

"I don't mean to come across as being disrespectful to your ex-wife, but even if we were romantically involved, what business is it of hers?" Emily questioned with furrowed brows. "I mean, she's moved on. And she knows I would never harm Jack."

"That's pretty much exactly what I said."

"Do you think, now that she's under the impression you're seeing someone else, that she regrets her decision to leave you?" Emily inquired cautiously, shocked by the way her heart dropped at the thought. "Does she want you back?"

"No, I don't think it's that." Aaron sighed. "Haley is unhappy that I wouldn't give up my career when she demanded it, now however it appears to her that I am risking it to have a relationship with you."

The female profiler's eyes widened as a wave of realisation flooded over her. "She has a point."

"What?" Hotch stared at his subordinate incredulously.

"Aaron, if I wanted to start a romantic relationship with you right now, you'd jump at the chance, correct?" She continued when he nodded in acknowledgment. "Doing that could potentially have serious ramifications with regards to your position as our Unit Chief."

"There are ways to avoid that. But yes, potentially, it could." He agreed.

"Look, I don't believe that you should have given up the job you love when she asked you to. And I also don't believe she has any right whatsoever to question you on who you decide to date now. But she walked away from you because you wouldn't give up this job. I'm sorry, Aaron, but it's a fair question. Why are you willing to risk it for me?"

"Do you want the same answer I gave her?"

"As long as it's the truth."

"It is." He assured her, before stepping directly in front of her. "I loved Haley. But the reason I refused to give up on my career for her, is simply because she asked me to. If she didn't care enough to see how much my job meant to me, then I wasn't willing to care enough about what she wanted me to do. You, are not Haley. The thing with Strauss last week proves my point more than ever. You put everybody's needs above your own and no matter what the circumstances were, I know for a fact that you would never ask me to give up my job for you. And that right there, Emily Prentiss, is the reason that I am willing to risk for _you_ , what I wasn't willing to give up for her."

There was a long pause while the profilers stared intensely into one another's eyes, before Emily finally broke the silence with a hushed whisper. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Aaron frowned. "Why am I doing what?"

The female agent stepped forward and pressed her lips firmly against his, lingering for a couple of seconds, before pulling back. She smirked up at the happy but confused expression Hotch presented, before she answered his question. "Making it impossible for me to resist you."

Without another word the smirking woman turned away and exited the office, leaving behind a very confused and flustered Aaron Hotchner.


	30. Chapter 30

A week had passed since Haley's unexpected visit and Aaron Hotchner had felt that things were going well between himself and Emily Prentiss.

They hadn't shared any more kisses, much to Hotch's disappointment, however things were definitely taking a turn for the better. She was more flirtatious with him and the intense longing gazes the pair shared increased every day.

He had actually started to believe for the first time since the day they had met, that he genuinely stood a really good chance with her.

His belief of this, however, was then ripped away from him on a case in Miami.

He couldn't believe it. Both of his female agents had seemed entranced by the male Detective they had been working with. And he just didn't get it. Although Hotch probably wasn't the best person to be making such judgements, he was sure that the man in question was a nice enough and an attractive enough guy, but he was nothing special. Or he didn't seem to be anyway. But clearly Hotch was missing something. Never before had he seen one of the women on his team affected in such a way be a Detective, how had this guy managed to entice both of them?

It was JJ's attraction to the male that Hotch had initially picked up on and at first he had thought nothing of it. But when Emily had started to show an interest… well that peaked the Unit Chief's curiosity.

He had promised both Emily and himself that he wouldn't let any flirtatious behaviour Emily decided to partake in affect his behaviour or his ability to remain professional in the field.

The female profiler had indeed initiated teasing and playful banter with multiple polices officers and agents in the past, and since the day she had confronted him in his office, he had always accepted it for the innocent activity it was and made no issue of it.

But this was a different situation completely. Unless he was reading the situation completely wrong, Emily Prentiss seemed genuinely interested in this particular male.

And that was the reason he had been… less than polite, with Emily on their last day working the case in Miami.

The Unsub was caught and the case closed, but due to the timing of the arrest the agents were having to spend one more night in Florida, before returning to Virginia the following morning.

Aaron Hotchner had been in his hotel room for close to an hour, still fully dressed in his outfit from the day, with the exception that he had kicked off his shoes.

He was pacing the room furiously as he tried to get head around what was happening. He knew he didn't have any real claim to Emily Prentiss, but he couldn't have completely invented the seemingly growing bond between them, could he? Was she leading him on? Had this whole thing just been a really long way to pay him back for the way he had treated her in the past?

A loud knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.

He ripped the solid wood open to be greeted by a narrow eyed glare from Emily Prentiss.

Despite the frustration, anger and jealousy within him, Hotch couldn't help the feeling of warmth that invaded his heart at the sight of her in the white panda shirt he had bought for her, along with a pair of dark grey sweat pants. She'd wandered over in her socks, with no shoes on, clearly getting ready for bed, before she had changed her plans and decided to confront him.

"What the hell is your problem?" The angry brunette questioned as she pushed her way passed him into his hotel room.

Hotch slammed the door shut after she entered, before following her further into the room. "You know exactly what the problem is." He responded, knowing it was pointless to try and play dumb with her and deny that he had a problem.

"No, I really don't." She shook her head as she glared daggers at the man stood in front of her. "All I know is that I nearly ended up crying myself to sleep in my room tonight, before I remembered that I was done with that shit over nine months ago. So tell me, what is going on?"

"I'm jealous, okay." He admitted, not caring how pathetic he may seem in that moment. "Happy? I stupidly managed to convince myself that I actually stood a chance with you and then I got to spend the entire day watching you throw yourself at Detective LaMontagne." He knew 'throwing yourself' was a bit of an over exaggeration but it was too late to take it back. He paused taking in her gaping expression, before adding. "I mean, that guy? Seriously? What is it about him? It's clear that JJ has a thing for him as well. What is it that has the two of you battling for his attention, because I just don't get it?"

In spite of the anger she felt, Emily almost felt like laughing at the way he had misinterpreted the situation. "So just to confirm, you've been an ass to me today because you're jealous of William LaMontagne?"

Hotch closed his eyes, knowing that he was going to be accused of reverting back to his old ways, but unable to keep from telling her the truth. "Yes."

Emily scoffed. "Firstly, I did not throw myself at him. And secondly, JJ and Detective LaMontagne are in a relationship. They have been for over a year now and I was _pretending_ that I was interested in him, to get her to admit it. "

The male profiler's jaw dropped a little at the revelation, before he snapped his mouth shut again and brought his hand to his head, letting out a long sigh and attempting to apologise. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It shouldn't matter, Hotch." She responded calmly, despite wanting to scream at the man in front of her. "You don't own me. Even if I did want to flirt with Detective LaMontagne for other reasons, with respect, it's none of your business."

"I'm your boss. When we're working it is my business."

"So that means that you're going to reprimand JJ then right? Because she actually is in a relationship with the detective in question. So following you're ridiculous logic…"

"That's not the same."

"How is it not the same?" She questioned angrily, staring incredulously at her boss. "It's one of your subordinates partaking in relations with a detective. It's either inappropriate or it's not. It's that simple. It shouldn't matter whether it's me or JJ. Can't you see that? What's the difference?"

"The difference is, I'm not in love with JJ!"

Emily's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Look, I know that I'm the bad guy in all this. I hurt you. I fucked up badly and I will continue to apologise every day for the rest of my life, if you want me to." He took a step closer to her, letting out a sigh of relief when she made no attempt to flee from him. "But I hurt you because I was trying to fight and hide my feelings for you. So I refuse to do that anymore. This is it Emily, out in the open. I am falling in love with you. I appreciate that you will most likely never fully return my feelings and I understand why. But I'm done hiding. I can't fight it anymore. And I'm sorry, I really am, but I also can't fight the jealously I feel when I see you flirting with another man. I know it's wrong and I have no right whatsoever to tell you what you can and can't do. So I won't. I give you my word, that as your boss, I will never order you to stop behaving in a certain manner towards other detectives. I can promise you that much. But as your friend, if you care for me at all, I'm asking you, please, don't do it in front of me. I can't bare it, Emily. It hurts."

Emily didn't know at what point during his speech the tears had begun to slowly fall from her eyes. She hadn't even realised she was crying, until her tongue poked out to moisten her lips and tasted the salty droplet that had found its way to the corner of her mouth. Why she was crying, she had no idea. Her heart burned and ached in her chest, as she continued to stare silently at the emotional man before her. She didn't understand what she was feeling or why she was feeling it. Every thought that entered her brain seemed to contradict another. In the space of a few seconds, she'd gone through the ideas of kissing him, punching him, fucking him and killing him. Eventually deciding against all four. She hated not being able to understand her own emotions. It made her angry. The tears escaping her increased in volume, as the rage consumed her. How had he done this to her?

"Em, I'm sorry." Against her will, Emily's heart fluttered at his use of a nickname. "I hate hurting you. Please, don't cry."

"I don't understand." She spoke quietly, as she struggled to fight off the next wave of tears.

"I don't know how I can make it any clearer. I…"

"No, not you. I understand you." She interrupted, closing her eyes as the need to bang her head harshly against the bedroom wall entered her mind. "I don't understand myself. My feelings don't make sense and I hate it."

"Your feelings?" He questioned, unable to stop his heart from clenching in his chest at the thought of her admitting out loud to having more than platonic feelings for him, despite her current emotional state. "What feelings?"

"You know what feelings!" She screamed. "Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you. You're one of the best freaking profilers I know, you have to be able to see the effect you have on me. It's not like I've had an easy time trying to hide it. I want you, Aaron and you know it. But it's not right! I shouldn't crave your touch the way I do. It doesn't make sense. It's not right!" She repeated, more so talking to herself now, rather than to the man stood before her. "I shouldn't want you."

"But you do." He stated like it was the simplest thing. "And I want you. Why does it have to be more complicated than that?"

"Because it is more complicated than that and you know it. Jesus Aaron, let's just start with the fact that we work together."

"Irrelevant."

"It's not irrelevant!"

"People all across the world get involved romantically in the same working environment as each other and make it work. It doesn't have to affect our ability to do our jobs. I'm confident that I can keep our personal and professional lives separate."

"Well I'm not convinced you can." Emily told him honestly. "Today has to be an example of that. Surely you can see it the way I do. You let your feelings for me affect the way you behaved towards me and towards Detective LaMontagne in the field. You can't deny that, Hotch. We're not even together yet and it's already affecting your judgement."

"Yet?"

"What?"

Despite the angst in the air, Aaron couldn't fight back the hint of a smirk that presented itself on his face. "You said 'we're not together yet'… meaning that you think at some point we will be."

Emily let out a long huff of annoyance. "It was a slip of the tongue."

"Doesn't matter." Hotch announced in the manner of a stubborn child. "It still counts."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes, it does."

"You're _so_ immature."

"You're _so_ gorgeous."

"Aaron, stop it!" She shouted, having to fight off the smile threatening to make an appearance across her features at any moment. "You're giving me whiplash with your behaviour right now. Do you realise you've gone from being insanely jealous, to insanely emotional, to insanely playful, in the space of a few minutes?"

"I'm sorry." He took a small step towards her, bringing up his left hand to cup her face. His calloused thumb gently caressed against the pale flesh of her cheek. "It was never my intention to…" He chuckled softly. "Give you whiplash."

"You're doing it right now." The response left her mouth in a whisper as she felt her head leaning into his touch. "Be jealous or be playful or be… romantic or whatever it is you're being right now. But please, just pick one emotion and stick to it."

"I could say the same thing to you, you know?" He told her, as he continued to stroke her face softly, relishing in the fact that she wasn't pushing him away. "You want me. You hate me. You kiss me and then say that it can't happen again. But then it does. Make your mind up, Em."

"You're right, I'm just as bad as you." She let out a long sigh, as a wave of realisation flooded over her. "No. I'm worse."

"That's okay. I forgive you." He said teasingly, retracting his hand from her. "I'm sure we can come up with a way for you to make it up to me."

Emily's heart began to race in her chest as she took in the look of arousal in his eyes as he spoke, carefully taking a step back, her eyes widening as he took a step forward to keep the distance between them from growing. "I hate the effect you have on me."

"No you don't." He shot back simply, pacing forward as she continued to back away from him.

The female profiler felt her resolve crumbling as her back hit the hotel room wall. "I just… I don't know what to do."

The corners of the man's lips twitched up as he came to a halt in front of her, resting his hands against the wall on either side of her head. "What do you _want_ to do?"

Emily felt her knees weaken as his darkened stare burned into her, before she managed to compose herself a little. Despite the slight awkwardness within her, she somehow found herself able to throw a small smirk up at him. "What I _want_ to do, I doubt you'd go for right now given that we're away on work. Especially due to your exclamation that you want to keep our personal and professional lives separate."

"I'm sure I could make an exception, just this once. Why don't you try it and find out?" Hotch raised his eyebrows, challenging the woman in front of him.

"I don't think I believe you, Sir. If I tried anything right now, you'd run a mile and you know it."

Aaron stepped impossibly closer to the female agent, covering her body with his as he pressed her against the wall, before breathing out quietly into her ear. "I've warned you about calling my bluff, Agent Prentiss."

Emily gasped at the huskiness of his tone, before Hotch pulled his head back slowly, gazing into her dark eyes with his mouth mere millimetres from hers.

"If you want me to stop this, all you have to do is say so." He breathed out against her slightly parted lips. "But if you don't, I'm going to kiss you."

The Unit Chief allowed a few seconds to pass in silence, giving her ample time to protest, before he removed the tiny bit of space that had previously been between them and pressed his lips softly against hers.

The initial kiss was cautious, as Hotch wanted to make sure that she definitely wanted it, before proceeding. He gently massaged his lips against hers, before dipping his tongue slowly inside.

He kissed her tenderly, taking his time as his tongue explored the depths of her mouth. He could feel that he was chipping away at the dam she had attempted to build between them, as she slowly started to become more and more responsive to his advance.

The moment the barrier crumbled was clear to them both, as a throaty groan ripped free from the female and she fisted his shirt in her hands, quickly intensifying the moment by turning his tender actions into something more passionate and desperate.

They continued the heated kiss as Emily pushed against his chest, walking forwards, effectively backing the man towards the bed.

Hotch's legs hit the back of the bed and the male agent let out a gasp as Emily shoved him roughly, causing him to fall back onto the bedsheets, with wide eyes.

The female profiler smirked down at the look of shock on his face, before moving to straddle his hips and latching her lips onto his again.

Aaron's hand came up to tangle in the beautiful woman's raven locks as his tongue battled with hers. A loud groan broke free from inside him and he released her hair, as she shifted on top of him, unexpectedly pressing herself against his hardening manhood.

As the sound fell from his lips, Emily sat up and grinned down at him seductively, before dragging her bottom lip between her teeth and deliberately grinding herself against him again, throwing him a teasing smirk as another uncontrollable moan escaped him.

"Fuck, Em." He hissed out through gritted teeth, staring up at the amused woman on top of him.

"Patience, Aaron." She responded with a wink. "We'll get there."

Hotch continued gazing up at the beautiful brunette straddling him, as a sudden wave of uncertainty flooded his brain. "Are you sure about this, Emily?" He somehow found the willpower to ask. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."

Emily rolled her eyes and shook her head, before raising an eyebrow at the profiler beneath her, her tone coming out firm as she spoke. "Here's the deal, Aaron. Turn me down again now and I promise you, you will never get another chance." With a huge smirk plastered across her face, Emily licked her lips before peeling her t-shirt slowly up over her head and dropping the garment to the floor.

The intense look of arousal in his darkened eyes increased and his jaw dropped as he realised that she wasn't wearing a bra. He remained still for a moment, gawking up at the sight of her perfect plump breasts on display for him. He had dreamt of her topless before, but clearly his imagination hadn't done her justice. The vision before him now had his mouth watering in anticipation of how good her skin would taste against his lips. A primitive growl tore its way from deep inside him and in a matter of seconds he had flipped them.

Emily moaned loudly at his display of dominance as her bare back hit the bedding, before some of his weight pressed down on her lower body as he straddled her. "You just have to be in control don't you, Agent Hotchner?"

"Yes." He told her simply, before crashing his lips against hers and thrusting his tongue inside her, starting up a fierce passionate kiss.

The female agent ran her fingers through the short hair on the back of his head, pulling at it gently as the male fastened his lips to her neck. He lightly sucked and nipped at the flesh there, before slowly kissing his way down to her chest. Emily's head fell back and a moan escaped her as his tongue flicked out against one of her hardened nipples.

Hotch continued to tease the small nub with his tongue, drawing more pleasurable sounds from the woman beneath him, before gently grazing his teeth around it, inwardly cheering at the groan she let out. He moved his mouth to her other nipple, encasing the peak with his lips, switching between sucking and licking, while his hand came up to caress her other breast.

She arched into his touch. Emily's skin felt hyper sensitive everywhere that his mouth and fingers touched her. She couldn't hold back the noises that were falling from her lips as he continued to suck, lick, bite, grope and pinch at her breasts and nipples for what felt like an eternity. It had been a long time since she had been touched like this and, even if it hadn't, she was convinced that if she gave him enough time, he could bring her to orgasm by touching her breasts alone.

"Aaron." She moaned out his name, as he gently grazed his teeth around one of her erect peaks, while his fingers lightly pinched the other one.

At the sound of his given name escaping her in a breathy moan, the male profiler released her breasts and risked a glance up at her, revelling in the spent look already plastered across her face. If she looked like this already, he couldn't wait to see what she would look like when he was finished with her.

Aaron leaned over and caught her lips with his own once again, starting up a slow tender kiss, that soon became heated.

He pulled back from the clash of tongues and teeth, as he felt hands tugging at the front of his shirt.

"Off." She ordered once he had released her lips, untucking the white fabric from his pants as she spoke.

The dark haired man smirked down at her as he leaned back, before unbuttoning his cuffs, while she swiftly reached up and freed him of his tie. He undid the top two buttons on his shirt, before quickly pulling both his shirt and undershirt over his head in one swift motion.

At the sight of his naked torso, Emily immediately found her hands reaching up to caress the toned body of his chest and abs, of their own accord.

Aaron remained still as she brushed her palm and fingers over his newly exposed flesh, basking in the look of desire increasing in her dark eyes. When her gaze flickered up to meet his, he couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. "Enjoying yourself?"

She failed to fight off the light blush that coloured her cheeks as she nodded. It seemed insane to her the tiny amount of embarrassment that grew within her as she touched him, given the lack of embarrassment she had felt when he had been touching her.

The man offered the woman beneath him a warm smile as she removed her hands from his abdomen. From his new upright position, Aaron took the opportunity to cup both of her breasts in his hands. He kneaded them with his palms, before gently rubbing his thumbs across her hardened nipples in unison.

"Enjoying yourself?" She threw his question back at him, with a hint of a smirk playing on her features.

Aaron responded by grinding his rock hard, material covered erection against her own covered heat, drawing moans from both of them before be answered. "What do you think?"

If possible Emily's eyes dilated further as she reached up and grabbed the back of his neck with both hands, causing him to release her breasts and catch his weight on his hands by either side of her head, as she forced him down towards her.

Their lips connected once again and Aaron almost lost it as she sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, before biting down.

He pulled away from her marginally and began to slowly trace kisses down the length of her jaw, before moving down her neck, her chest, drawing each nipple into his mouth and sucking once. He continued his path down her stomach, placing one final press of the lips just above the waistband of her sweat pants, before playfully teasing his fingers along the edge of the material.

"Fuck, Aaron." Emily cried out when she couldn't take the slow build up any longer. "Haven't we waited long enough for this already? Please."

"Please what, Em?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow, noticing the effect the use of the nickname had on her. "Tell me what you want."

"I want you inside me." She answered without hesitation, leaving no room for doubt with regards to her desire for the man on top of her.

Aaron was momentarily taken back by her abruptness, but soon returned his attention to the task at hand. He climbed off of her legs, kneeling on the bed beside her, before hooking his thumbs underneath the fabric of her pants, slowly peeling both her pants and panties down the length of her smooth legs.

She watched intently as he removed all of her remaining clothing, lifting her hips and legs when appropriate to help him with his actions.

Once she was lying naked before him, the male profiler found himself licking his lips as he gazed down at the gorgeous woman on display. "My God, you're beautiful." He told her, before leaning down onto his side, beside her, and capturing her lips in a tender kiss.

Emily moaned loudly into his mouth as his tongue caressed her depths, while one of his fingers swept unexpectedly between her folds.

"Emily, you're so wet." He announced with wide eyes as he removed his lips from hers.

"You're surprised?" She questioned, with a slightly nervous laugh.

Hotch shook his head and grinned cheekily at her as he slipped a single digit inside her, drawing yet another enjoyable moan from the raven haired beauty.

Her eyes fluttered shut as he removed his finger from inside her and brought it up to rub her clit. He continued to circle the sensitive bundle of nerves, pride filling him as he listened to the many pleasurable sounds leaving her lips because of him.

His mouth found hers again, as he slipped his finger inside her a second time, slowly starting to pump it in and out, before adding a second digit to her tight heat.

Emily couldn't stop any of the uncontrollable noises escaping her and she felt herself stretching around his fingers.

The man picked up the pace of his ministrations, if possible becoming even more aroused by the way she looked, shaking beside him, unable to fight back the sounds that fell from her lips.

"Aaron please." She begged, breathlessly.

The male agent stilled his movements as he gazed into her dark eyes, before pulling his fingers out of her.

A gasp escaped from Emily's lips as he brought his hand up to his mouth, taking in his fingers and sucking off her juices ridiculously slowly as he threw her a look that could only be described as erotic.

He licked his lips and let out a moan in appreciation of the taste, before bringing their mouths together.

Although Emily could never say that it had ever been much of a turn on for her in the past, the taste of herself on Hotch's tongue, as he pushed it past her teeth, had the moisture between her legs increasing rapidly.

Hotch broke away from the heated kiss, pecking the tip of her nose, before rolling away and off of the bed.

"I trust that you haven't been with anyone since you last FBI medical?" He asked, standing over her. When she nodded in confirmation, he undid his belt and button, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of his pants and boxers, pulling them down his legs and kicking them off, before removing his socks and speaking again. "Neither have I. And contraception?"

"Got it covered." Was her quick reply, as her eyes stared longingly at the newly exposed area of his body. She felt her lower regions twitch in response to her approval of his large, fully erect manhood.

The sight was ripped away from her, as Aaron climbed back onto the bed, pushing her thighs open and settling himself between them, dragging an appreciative sound from the woman as his tip brushed against her entrance. "Emily, are you sure?"

"Don't make me hit you." She retorted, before a squeal escaped her as he thrust into her, mercilessly.

Hotch breathed heavily as he stilled, buried in the tight embrace of her walls. The feeling of perfection he felt being deep inside her overwhelmed him briefly.

He allowed her a moment to adjust to the feeling of his large intruding member, before slowly pulling back so only the tip of his penis was still inside her and then pushing back in gently.

The pair moaned in unison at the friction and Emily dragged her lip between her teeth, torturing the swollen flesh as he continued to thrust in and out of her at an almost painfully slow pace.

How he had the patience to go at such a speed, had Emily' mind boggled. If things felt half as good for him as they did for her, then he deserved a medal for his resilience.

The female brunette bucked her hips up in an attempt to quicken his movements, earning a teasing grin from the man above her.

"Faster." She demanded.

"You're so tight, Em." He reasoned, despite the desire within him to fuck her senseless as fast as he could. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Believe me, the pleasure is easily outweighing the pain." She let out breathlessly, before leaning up to capture his lips in a tender kiss. "Besides." She added with a smirk after releasing his mouth. "I like it rough."

"Fuck." Aaron lost a large portion of his self-control at her confession and began to increase the pace of his thrusts, relishing in the mixture of moans and hisses that tore free from the beautiful woman panting beneath him.

As he felt her widening slightly to adjust to his size, he took hold of her calves, lifting her legs to pound into her from a different angle, releasing a loud groan himself at the way her head fell back as she arched her chest towards him.

He took advantage of her movements and caught her off guard by taking one of her nipples into his mouth and sucking hard, while quickening his pace further.

"Aaron!" She called out and Hotch nearly fell over the edge as her walls began to tighten around him. He could feel the familiar tingle in his balls and knew that despite his best efforts, he wasn't going to last long.

He had wanted to make his first time with her slow and tender and loving, but he should have learned by now, that when it came to Emily Prentiss, all plans and rules went out of the window. He pushed her legs up a little more, pounding into her in an almost erratic way, as she cried out his name again and again between moans, clearly finding the new angle even more pleasurable.

Aaron went to press his lips to hers, before changing his mind and averting his attention to her neck, not wanting to stop any of the sounds escaping her. He kissed and sucked at her pale flesh, while continuing to thrust in and out of her uncontrollably, before biting down on her pulse point, causing her walls to clamp down hard around his length.

"Aaron! Fuck!" She screamed out as his teeth bit down on her neck, just as he thrust deep inside her, hitting the right spot and sending her spiralling over the edge as her vision went blurry and she came hard.

At both the sight and the feeling of her orgasming beneath him, Aaron himself fell over the edge.

An undignified sound, he couldn't ever recall making before, left his lips as he reached the peak of his orgasm. He thrust two more times as he emptied his cum deep inside her, before he stilled his movements having to drop a large amount of his weight down onto her due to the intensity of his explosive orgasm.

A long moment passed, while the room was filled with no sound other than the breathless panting coming from the open mouths of the exhausted agents.

When he finally managed to summon up the smallest amount of strength, he rolled off of her, lying flat on his back, before wrapping an arm around the shoulders of the other spent agent and pulling her to his side.

Emily didn't fight his actions and allowed her naked body to press against his. She felt his lips brush against her forehead as her cheek came to rest on his chest.

They remained in this position for a long time, while their heartrates and breathing slowly began to return to something that could be considered normal.

It was the female profiler who was the first to speak. "That was amazing."

"It certainly was." He agreed, with a hum of amusement.

Silence enveloped them once more and Hotch could feel himself beginning to drift off, before Emily leaned up and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "I should get back to my own room."

"Stay." The word fell from his lips without any thought.

"I really shouldn't." She shook her head. "We're surrounded by our co-workers, Aaron."

"And?"

"And do you really want them to find out about what we just did?" Emily questioned incredulously.

Hotch couldn't fight off the small chuckle that escaped him. "Em, I imagine the entire floor already knows what we just did. You weren't exactly quiet."

"I wasn't that loud." She defended, before asking. "Was I?"

"Yes, you were." He replied, snickering at the light blush that invaded her usually pale flesh. "I wouldn't be surprised if Garcia heard you back in Quantico."

"Hey." Emily protested, playfully smacking the smirking agent next to her on the chest. "Why didn't you tell me to be quiet?"

"Because I didn't want you to be quiet." He answered honestly, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her swollen lips. "I hope it's not the case, but for all I know that was the only chance I'm ever going to get to see you like that. I didn't want to take anything away from the experience."

Emily didn't need to be a profiler to pick up on the underlying question, buried within his comment. "Aaron, I don't regret what we just did. Not for one second. How could I? It was amazing. But it can't happen again." She witnessed as his face dropped, before adding. "Not while we're away on a case."

The Unit Chief's felt the corners of his lips tugging back up into a small smile as he asked. "But when we're outside of a working environment?"

The female agent rolled her eyes, before winking at the male. "We'll see."

* * *

 **Big apologies for the delay in posting this one. As is probably very clear to you all now, writing 'smut' is really not something I excel in, unfortunately. Hence why this chapter has taken so long, as I really struggled with it. I will try to be quicker with my next update. Thanks again for all of your support and reviews.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews of the last chapter. Just a quick heads up, I have a crazy busy few days coming up, so I will try my best, but chances are I may not be able to update for a few days, due to that wonderful thing called life. So sorry in advance, if that is the case.**

* * *

Never again while they were away on a case? That was a good rule in theory. Easier said than done though, wasn't it?

A couple of weeks had passed since their passionate night in Miami and the BAU had been heavily loaded with cases in that time period.

Things hadn't exactly been awkward between Aaron and Emily, more just as if they were being over-cautious to hide their emotions, not so much from each other but more so from the rest of the team.

Hotch may have been exaggerating slightly as the idea that the whole floor had heard them having sex. He was a good enough profiler to have spotted if his team had have known. And he was pretty confident that most of them didn't have an inkling of what had happened, but he didn't have to be a profiler to know that Spencer Reid, who had been in the room next to his own, had definitely heard them that night.

The young doctor had barely made eye contact with either of them over the past two weeks and surprising Hotch to begin with, he hadn't been making eye contact with JJ either. He wondered at first if Spencer had mistakenly thought that the blonde had been in the room with him, until remembering that JJ had been rooming on the other side of Reid, concluding that the communications liaison had most likely received a visit from Detective LaMontagne. It must have been a noisy night for Dr Reid from both sides. Poor kid.

Still exhausted from working pretty much back to back cases, the team had been called away to New York to investigate a series of seemingly random shootings.

The case was a bad one and they had been working none stop since they had landed, but enough was enough and fearing that one of them may pass out, Hotch had ordered his team back to the hotel to try and get a small amount of rest, before they picked up again in the morning.

Aaron Hotchner had every intention of trying to get some sleep, but despite his exhausted state, his mind was consumed with thoughts of Emily Prentiss. And not the usual enjoyable thoughts he normally experienced.

Something was wrong. She had been off with him, pretty much since the moment they had arrived in New York.

She was angry with him. That much he was sure of. He back tracked in his mind through the last few days, trying to rack his brain to figure out what he had done to upset her this time. But he couldn't think of anything.

His heart dropped in his chest at the thought that she was beginning to regret what they had done in Florida.

In spite of knowing that they both desperately needed to rest, the Unit Chief found himself pacing down the hallway in the direction of her room. He didn't hesitate to knock on the solid wood blocking his entrance, immediately forcing his way into the room, the moment she pulled the door open.

"I'm not in the mood, Hotch." She greeted him, slamming the door closed and turning to face him, before moving further towards the man.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm tired."

"No, something else is bothering you."

"No, it's not."

"You've been off with me all day."

"Have I?"

"What's wrong?" He repeated as a sigh escaped him.

"Nothing."

"I'm a profiler, Emily."

"Good for you."

"Em, something is _clearly_ bothering you. I'm not an idiot."

"Well, I _clearly_ don't want to talk about it. So you kind of are."

Hotch let out a long sigh, desperately wanting to know what was going on with the woman he was falling in love with, but knowing better than to try and push her in that moment. "Fine, get some rest. I don't anticipate getting any sleep tonight, so I'm going to go and catch up with Agent Joyner."

"Oh, I bet you are." Was her sarcastic retort.

"Excuse me?"

"Forget it, Hotch."

An instant wave of realisation hit him and he announced without thinking. "You're jealous."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Damn it, Hotch! I'm exhausted and I just want to go to bed."

"Emily, you don't have to be jealous of Agent Joyner."

"That's good, because I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"What reason would I possibly have to be jealous?" She questioned loudly, gesturing her arms up frantically. "We slept together once, Hotch. One time. It didn't mean anything. We made no promises of commitment to each other. In fact, we specifically stated that it wasn't going to happen again. So go ahead. You can do whatever, or _whoever,_ you want."

Aaron Hotchner knew he should be angry over what she was accusing him of. After all, hadn't she been angry at him only two weeks earlier, when he had accused her of wanting to sleep with William LaMontagne. But that was exactly the reason he wasn't angry at all. He had been jealous because of how much he cared for her. So if she was this jealous now, it was only because she cared. How could he be angry at her for that? Her affection was something he craved and even though it wasn't exactly how he would like her to show it to him, her jealously was indeed a sign of her affection for him. Despite the angst in the air, Hotch found himself smiling at the beautiful brunette. The way their roles had reversed was somewhat amusing to him.

"What are you smiling at?" She glared in his direction.

"You." Was his one word answer as he strode purposely towards her, not hesitating as he placed his hands on her hips forcing their bodies flush against one another, before sealing their lips together.

Emily resisted his advance for all of two seconds, before moaning in surrender and giving in to him. She kissed him back fiercely for some time, before sucking his lower lip into her mouth and biting down lightly, drawing a pleasurable groan from the male.

Hotch knew that they really shouldn't be doing this while they were working on such an important, time sensitive case, knowing full well that they desperately needed to sleep, but he had realised some time ago that when it came to Emily Prentiss, all bets were off. He knew it shouldn't, but her jealousy had aroused him more than he would ever admit out loud. As she caught his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, any tiny shred of self-control he may have had left was obliterated. The alpha male in him took over completely as he dragged his lips away from her and scooped her up bridal style, carrying her over to the bed, before throwing her down on it roughly.

"Aaron, what are you doing?" The flushed female asked as she hit the mattress, her voice coming out a lot huskier than she had expected. She gazed up at the man stood over her, admittedly highly turned on by his unexpected display of dominance, coupled with the aroused glint in his blackened eyes.

"I'm doing exactly what you just told me to do." He responded simply, before kicking off his shoes and climbing on top of her, fastening his lips to hers again without hesitation, instantly forcing his tongue inside her and kissing her deeply.

"What?" She managed to question, when he finally released her mouth again.

"You said, and I'm quoting here, 'you can do whatever, or _whoever,_ you want.' Was that not intended as an invitation?" The Unit Chief smirked down at the woman beneath him. "Because I thought I'd made it perfectly clear by now, exactly what I want."

"But, I thought you wanted… her."

"Well you thought wrong." The male told her, before grinding his hard member against her, causing them both to moan in unison. "Now shut up about her and let me show you who I really want."

Emily had to fight back a groan at the intense, possessive look in his eyes as he hovered over her. She actually couldn't remember a time when she had ever been this turned on, but despite that fact, she somehow managed to speak out in protest. "We can't Aaron, we're working a case."

"We've done it before." He argued, starting up an attack on the flawless pale skin of her neck, moaning out in frustration as she pushed at his shoulders.

"Yeah, that was after we caught the Unsub and we both agreed that it would only happen that one time."

Hotch released a long sigh, as he pulled back and stared down at the raven haired beauty beneath him. "I once said, I would never let you see how much I wanted you. You once said, I never stood a chance with you. I said I was happy to have a strictly platonic relationship with you. You said that once we were co-workers again we wouldn't be able to kiss anymore. We both say a lot of things we don't really mean, don't we?" He raised an eyebrow at her before continuing. "So for once, let's just say something we do actually mean. I'll go first." He gently lowered his lips to hers, barely touching them together before pulling back. "Right now, all of my self-control has left the building and all I can think about is being inside you. I want you, Emily Prentiss."

There was a long pause as the room went deadly quiet, before Emily's eyes noticeably darkened as she stared up at him and whispered out. "Then take me."

The alpha male did not need to be told twice.

* * *

Emily Prentiss and Aaron Hotchner were woken a few hours later as the jingle on the male's cell phone rang out.

The female agent groaned out in reluctance at getting up as the sound of Hotch's alarm filled the room. "Do we have to get up already?" She croaked out groggily.

"No, you can stay in bed for another hour or two if you want." He rolled over and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek, before climbing out of the bed. "I'm going to get showered and then head back to the precinct and meet up with Kate." He didn't need to be a profiler to spot the way her expression dropped at the announcement of the other woman's name.

"Okay."

Aaron couldn't believe, that after what they had just done, she was still insecure about his devotion to her. "Emily, she's just a colleague, barely even a friend."

"I know, I'm sorry." She offered a warm smile in his direction, as she moved to sit up in the bed. "I don't know why I'm letting myself get like this."

 _Because you care._ The male answered in his head, beaming over at the sleepy profiler.

"You have to admit, she is the spitting image of you ex-wife?"

"They… resemble each other, yes." He agreed. "But until you find another woman who is the spitting image of _you_ , I can assure you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

A light blush fell across Emily's cheeks at his compliment.

Aaron winked at the blushing brunette, before heading towards the bathroom, turning back to her in the doorway. "What you said earlier about this… meaning nothing…?"

"I didn't mean that." She assured him as a small wave of shame passed over her. "Of course, this means something to me. I was upset and… jealous." She finally admitted.

"You really have no need to be. You may not be willing to make any promises of commitment, but I am. Emily, I give you my word, I have eyes for nobody but you. Unless the day comes when you tell me that I stand absolutely no chance whatsoever of having a romantic relationship with you, then I promise that I am committed to you and you alone. I love you."


	32. Chapter 32

**Sorry about the delay guys, I'm incredibly busy at the moment. Thanks again to everybody who is still reading this and reviewing. This chapter is picking up in episode Mayhem (S4E1) with the shooting/bombing case in New York. Hope you enjoy.**

Emily Prentiss slowly made her way down the sidewalk in search of her boss, her mind casting painful thoughts back over the case they had just worked.

She had been a nervous wreck from the moment Garcia had announced that the bomb had been under Kate and Hotch's SUV. Even though the tech girl had instantly rushed to assure them all that Hotch looked alright, Emily couldn't help the wave of heartache and panic that flooded her as the words sunk in.

Aaron Hotchner, her… friend, had been involved in a bombing.

She couldn't stop herself from going over all the possible scenarios in her head. What could have happened, what may well have happened, and what could still happen.

Garcia could see from the footage that their unit chief was still alive, but it wasn't possible to fully assess the extent of any injuries he may have received as a result of the explosion. Emily knew Aaron and knew that he would push any pain he was feeling aside in that moment in an attempt to help Kate.

Worry had consumed her and she began to pick at her fingernails in an effort to get her emotions under control. She knew that she had to calm down before the team began to notice how much more concern she had than the rest of them. If she was ever going to be able to give her and Aaron a shot at a relationship then she had to prove to both the team and herself that she could remain professional and useful in situations like this.

That was the same rule she kept in mind when her, Rossi, Reid and Morgan had gone to the hospital to meet Hotch.

When he came into view, it took her every bit of will power she could muster to stop herself from throwing her arms around him and demanding that he hold her in his embrace. She could tell that he was likely thinking the same thing. Had the other members of the team not been there to witness the moment of potential unprofessionalism, there was no question in either of their minds that they would be in each other's arms in that instant.

But they did have an audience, as well as an open case they still needed to work, so both pushed their emotions aside for the time being and focused their efforts on catching the Unsub.

Now however, as she continued to pace in the direction of the man she was looking for, the unsubs were dead and they were no longer working a case or in the presence of their co-workers.

"Hey." Emily greeted with a warm smile, as she approached the Unit Chief.

"Hey yourself." His features moved to match hers.

The female profiler paused nervously in front of the man, wanting desperately to finally pull him into her arms now that they were alone, but for some strange reason she was hesitant.

It didn't take Aaron long to figure out what was going on and he found the corners of his mouth twitching up further, as he stepped forward and pulled Emily into his embrace.

Emily had to fight back the tears as he held her tight in his arms. She was being ridiculous. Why was she getting upset now, when he was right here in front of her? Safe. But if the bomber had have set off the bomb just a second later, it could have been a different story.

"Emily, it's okay." He spoke out, continuing to keep her pressed against his chest, as he whispered in her ear. "I'm right here and I'm fine."

He was. But if he and Kate had have been… Kate… A huge wave of guilt washed over Emily at the thought of the deceased British agent. "I'm sorry about, Agent Joyner." She spoke out quietly.

The Unit chief pulled back a little from the hug to look at her, but kept his arms around her figure. His smile dropped at the memory of the agent they had lost in the process of working this case. He offered Emily a simple nod in thank you for her condolences, before reluctantly releasing his hold on the brunette, knowing that an Agent was supposed to be along to drive him back to Quantico at any moment.

"So, are you ready to go?" The raven haired woman questioned wanting to try and tear the mood away from the depressing line it was heading down, dangling a set of car keys out as if she were teasing a cat.

Hotch's brows furrowed in confusion. "I thought, Agent Davis was driving me?"

"She was, Morgan had her reassigned." Emily responded matter of factly, smiling happily at the man before her.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because I asked him to."

"It's over a three hour drive back."

"I know."

A light smile appeared across his features, at the fact that she wanted to spend three hours trapped in a car alone with him, rather than on the Jet with the rest of her friends. "Give me the keys, I'll drive."

"Not a chance, Aaron." Emily smirked at the man, picking up his go-bag and heading in the direction of their vehicle.

The male shook his head and let out a small chuckle. "As a gentleman, I don't know how I feel about being chauffeured around and having my bag carried by my lady."

The raven haired woman laughed, before throwing him a playful glare. "First of all, that thing you call 'being a gentleman' often comes across as pure sexism and secondly, what makes you think that I'm your lady?"

He gently gripped her wrist, stopping her movement towards the car and forcing her to stand still and face him. "Aren't you?"

"I don't know." She spluttered out, without thinking, really not wanting to start their long car journey with as serious a topic of conversation, as the definition of their relationship. She grinned up at him cheekily, before speaking again. "I'll tell you one thing I do know, though. I'm really glad you're not dead. That would have sucked."

Aaron huffed out a laugh. "I imagine you'd have gotten over it."

 _No, I don't think I ever would have._ She thought to herself as they made their way to the issued SUV.

The journey back didn't seem that long at all and somehow Aaron had managed to stay awake for the entire ride to keep her company.

He hadn't wanted to say anything, but he had been exhausted after the case they had just worked, and had Agent Davis driven him home as planned, he had been intending to sleep for the majority of the journey.

But when Emily had gone out of her way to drive him back, rather than heading home on the comfort of the Jet with the others, despite his tired state, it didn't seem right for him to sleep while she drove.

Emily pulled the vehicle up outside of Hotch's apartment and killed the engine, before turning to face the man beside her.

"Thank you, Emily." Aaron began, offering her a warm smile. "You really didn't have to."

"I know." She beamed back at the male. "You are actually surprisingly good company on a long car ride."

"What do you mean 'surprisingly'?" He questioned, with a playful undertone to his voice.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, while continuing to grin at him.

He nudged her gently, before his features fell into a tight frown as a wave of pain shot through his injured ear.

"Hey, are you okay?" The female profiler asked, concern overwhelming her when he didn't reply straight away. "Aaron?"

"I'm alright." He found the power to respond as the painful ringing began to lesson a little.

"Are you sure? I should take you to get checked out again."

"No." He rushed to assure her. "I'll be fine, really. I just need some rest."

Emily didn't appear to be convinced, but decided not to argue with him all the same. "Okay fine, but only on one condition."

"What's that?"

"I'm staying with you, until _I'm_ sure you're okay."

A snicker fell from the older agent's lips, despite the jolt of discomfort still bothering his ear. "Emily, if you want to stay over, all you have to do is ask. You don't have to pretend to be concerned for my wellbeing." He joked.

A chuckled escaped her, before she playfully reached over and lightly smacked his chest. "I am not pretending, and what possible reason could I have for wanting to stay over other than to make sure you're alright?"

The male profiler raised his eyebrows suggestively and moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue, before responding. "You tell me?"

A stifled snort came out as she shook her head at the man. "Behave yourself, Agent Hotchner."

"You know you don't really want me to do that, Agent Prentiss." He retorted, unable to fight off the big yawn that forced free of him, after he'd spoken.

His yawn drew the same action from her and almost in unison, the agents unbuckled their seat-belts and exited the vehicle, before he led her into his apartment.

They toed of their shoes and almost immediately made their way to his bedroom, dropping their go bags on the floor, before Aaron took a seat on the edge of the bed and gestured for her to come and join him.

Emily sat herself down next to him and allowed him to wrap an arm around her waist, as her head rested against his shoulder.

The pair remained in this position for a short while as silence enveloped the room, before Emily lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"I meant what I said before." She spoke softly.

"Meant what?"

Their eyes locked for a moment staring intensely at one another, before Emily gave in and leaned forwards, capturing his lips with her own. She kissed him tenderly, reaching up her hand to cup his jaw as her tongue gently caressed his.

"That I'm glad you're alive." She let out, when she finally pulled back from the kiss.

A chuckle fell from the Unit Chief as he flashed the famous Hotchner dimples her way. "Is that so?"

"Yep." She pressed her lips to his again, starting up a more passionate kiss this time. Her tongue searched the depths of his mouth fiercely, as her hands fisted in the white material of his shirt. The brunette female released his lips once again, before throwing him a suggestive look. "Want me to show you just how glad I am?"

A sound somewhere between frustration and amusement escaped the male profiler. He pecked a sweet kiss to her lips before shaking his head. "Emily, you know how much I want you. But I honestly don't think my performance would be up to standard right at this moment. It's been a really long few days and we're both exhausted. Don't you think we should get some sleep?"

She huffed out a sigh of annoyance, before bringing her lips into the shape of a small pout, as she nodded in agreement.

"What's wrong?" He inquired, a small amount of concern filling him at the sudden drop in her mood.

"Nothing." She answered with a half-smile. "It's just a real shame, that's all."

"What is?"

"That you're so tired."

A hint of laughter escaped him, as he gazed at the expression of playful sadness that had spread itself across her features. "And why's that?"

"I was just thinking, I could finally pay you back for that shirt I ruined?" She smiled at him coyly, raising a questioning brow. "Unless you've forgotten the deal we made that day we went to the zoo?"

The male agent's eyes widened to the size of saucers, as he recalled the agreement they had made that day. Admittedly at the time they had been joking, but if she wanted to follow through with the plan, in spite of how tired he felt, there wasn't a chance in hell that he was going to stop her. In fact his cock was already hardening just at the thought.

Emily took his stunned facial features, complete silence and the glint of arousal in his eyes as confirmation that not only did her remember their deal, but also that he was more than happy for her to pay up on her end of the bargain. With a naughty grin, the female profiler winked at the shell shocked man, before slowly lowering herself off of the bed and onto her knees, not tearing her gaze away from him as she dropped.

Once on the floor, she brushed her hands along his thighs, deliberately slowly, again keeping her stare fixated on his, before her hands reached for the buckle of his belt.

The raven haired beauty pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on the pink piece of flesh while, at an unbearably sluggish pace, she undid his belt, before opening up the button and zipper on his pants.

Now obviously Aaron was aroused by the fact that he was pretty certain he was about to receive a blowjob. But what was turning him on more than anything in that moment, was simply the way she was looking at him. Emily Prentiss was an amazing sight at any time. But slightly dishevelled from the long car ride, on her knees before him, with her bottom lip trapped between her teeth, while gazing up at him with a naughty glint in her darkened eyes that refused to look away from him for a second… He'd never seen anything so sexy in all his life.

"Up." She ordered, finally releasing the now slightly swollen bit of flesh her teeth had been torturing and leaning back from the male.

As if on autopilot, Aaron stood up without any thought, the moment the request fell from her lips.

The second he did, Emily didn't hesitate to hook her fingers into the waistband of his pants and boxers, pulling both items of clothing down his legs in one swift motion, before he stepped out of them. The female agent couldn't fight off the cheeky grin that spread across her face as his painfully hard erection sprang up before her eyes. It was at this moment she finally tore her stare away from his, dropping her gaze to the hardened member in front of her, while licking her lips in anticipation. "I haven't even touched you yet?" She announced questioningly with a smirk, as she continued to eye his rock hard manhood.

He reached out his fingers, placing them under her chin, before gently lifting her head up, forcing her to glance up and meet his darkened stare once more. "I don't think you understand just how sexy you look right now."

His thumb brushed lightly against her lips and Emily carefully captured the digit in her mouth. She drew it in only up to the first knuckle, circling her tongue around the tip, before sucking hard as she pulled her head back releasing his thumb. Her gaze never left his as she did this and she watched proudly as his eyes blackened even further at her actions.

"Fuck." He cursed, moving his hand away from her chin, the moment his thumb fell from her mouth. He felt his cock twitch in anticipation as her breath blew out against it when she moved herself right in front of his erect manhood. It was almost enough to send him over the edge, just staring down at the beautifully erotic sight of her on her knees, with dark eyes and parted lips, mere millimetres away from his pulsing erection. A throaty groan escaped him as her tongue unexpectedly shot out and licked at his tip.

"You might want to sit down." She offered in advice. "It has been a long, tiring few days and I don't want you collapsing on me. Because I plan on taking my time with you."

A sound that could almost be described as a whimper fell from the Unit Chief's lips at her words and he felt himself leaning back to drop onto the edge of the bed with little thought. It was new and strange to him, the amount of control she had over him. It was as if he was some sort of programmed robot, unable to refrain from obeying her commands.

Emily adjusted her positioning between his open legs slightly, before resting her hands on his thighs, firmly rubbing and massaging the muscle at her fingertips. She watched as the large erect member twitched before her and couldn't resist any longer.

Her name slipped out through his teeth in a hiss, as she suddenly engulfed his throbbing erection into the depths of her mouth, taking in more of him than he had been expecting.

Her gaze locked onto his as she slowly and deliberately pulled her head back, sucking gently as she released more and more of him, eventually circling her tongue around the mushroom head twice before allowing the tip to fall from her lips.

"Fucking hell, Em." Once again, although the feeling of being deep inside her wet mouth was one of perfection, it was the way she was looking at him as she did it that had him cursing.

Still with her eyes trapped on his, the woman took his erection deep into her throat a couple more times, before bringing up a hand to slowly pump at the base of his large shaft, while her lips, teeth and tongue paid extra special attention to the end of his cock.

She continued her ministrations, earning a number of different pleasurable sounds from the man before her.

The male gently brushed his hand into her hair, resting it on the back of her head as he began to massage the scalp at his fingertips.

Emily hummed around his length in appreciation of his actions, causing Aaron to buck forward unexpectedly due to the pleasurable feeling of the vibration.

Hotch's eyes widened at his own movement, as Emily gagged a little. "Em, I'm so sorry." He rushed to apologise.

The brunette female removed her mouth from his cock, before sitting back and smirking up at him cheekily. "Don't be." She offered him a wink and wrapped her lips around her teeth, before taking just the head of his manhood into her mouth and stilling as she glanced up at him expectantly.

A gasp fell from the man's lips as he realised what she was telling him he could do. Hesitantly, he pushed his hips forwards, causing his shaft to sink further into the wet heat of her mouth. He moaned loudly, as she hummed in approval of his movement.

"Are you sure, you're okay with this?" He asked breathlessly.

Emily simply continued to glare up at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly, as if to say, 'What do you think, Genius?'

He pushed into her mouth again cautiously, and again, and again. His hand gripped tightly in her hair as she continued to vibrate around him, drawing a number of different enjoyable sounds from the male.

When he couldn't take it any longer, Aaron pulled himself free from her hot embrace and shot up from the bed, bringing his hand that wasn't tangled in her raven locks up to caress her cheek. He lovingly brushed his thumb across the flushed skin for a moment, before tugging her up higher on her knees to accommodate his now standing position and slowly pushed himself back inside her willing mouth.

He increased the harshness of his hold on her hair, tearing a growl of appreciation from the woman, as he quickened the pace of his thrusts.

As Emily got familiar with his movements, she began to flick out her tongue at just the right moment to match each of his thrusts, earning an indescribable moan of pleasure from the male.

"Fuck, Emily." He managed to speak out, panting as she continued to gaze up at him while he shamelessly fucked her mouth. "So good." He praised as he increased the pace of his actions a little more.

Every so often, Emily would gag slightly as his large manhood would hit a certain spot in her throat, but with his size that was too be expected and it clearly wasn't bothering her. If anything, Aaron would swear he could see the glint of arousal increase in her stare every time he thrust into her a little harshly.

The Unit Chief could feel that tingling sensation coming from his balls and the way his stomach was tightening told him he wasn't going to last much longer.

As if she had read his mind, Emily choose this moment to press her hands against his inner thighs, pushing gently in an effort to stop his movements.

Somewhat reluctantly, Aaron slowed his thrusts, before stilling completely, still half way inside her mouth.

Emily gazed up at the flustered male as his actions came to halt, gliding her tongue around his length and sucking lightly, before releasing his throbbing member from her wet heat.

She smirked at the disappointed groan that fell from his parted lips as she let his manhood slip from her mouth and he removed his hand from her hair.

"You've had your fun. Now it's my turn." She announced with a cheeky grin, pushing the man in front of her, catching him off guard and causing him to fall back into his earlier seated position.

The male profiler leaned back, placing his hands into the bedsheets behind him to keep himself propped up.

Emily brought her delicate fingers up to gently stroke along the length of his shaft, while her lips and tongue teasingly kissed and licked at the mushroom head of his manhood.

"Emily, please." Aaron practically begged as he glanced down at the beautiful sight of Emily Prentiss with her lips around his cock. As amazing as her movements felt, having been so close to his release just moments earlier, Aaron couldn't bare the playfully teasing pace she was subjecting him to.

The raven haired woman still for a moment, staring up at him with a naughty glint in her eyes, before engulfing his erection deep into the back of her throat.

Aaron moaned out loudly and his head fell back as she slowly sucked him in and out of her mouth, circling her tongue around the end every few times.

Emily forced him fully into her depths one more time, before carefully and deliberately sucking him as she pulled back her head.

The brunette lady's hand came up and she firmly wrapped her fingers around the base of his shaft, pumping him three times and flicking her tongue out to capture the tiny amount of pre cum that escaped from his tip.

Aaron's eyes were shut and his head remained thrown back as she continued to slowly pump the base of his length while her lips wrapped around him again.

Emily safely cushioned her teeth behind her lips and positioned her tongue along the underside of his cock as she began to bob her head back and forth, relishing in the pleasurable noises she was drawing from the usually stoic male.

If the way he was moaning in enjoyment was anything to go by, Emily knew that he wasn't going to be able to hold back much longer. His sounds along with the way she could tell he was having to fight back the urges to buck his hips as she sucked him, told her for sure that he was close.

With that thought in mind the female agent quickened the pace of her actions, both with her mouth and her hand, sucking him fast and hard as she slightly increased the tightness of her hold around the base of his manhood and pumped him in time with her mouth.

"Fuck, Em." Aaron hissed out her name threw gritted teeth, as the tingling feeling in is balls intensified. He finally forced his head up and his eyes open to take in the sight of her again, instantly feeling himself pushed to the edge, knowing it wasn't going to take much to push him over it. "I'm… Em… I'm." He panted out, unable to find the breath to form a full sentence. "I'm gonna…"

As the words fell from his lips, Emily's darkened gaze shot up to meet his just as she bobbed down around his length, moving her tongue around him in a way he had never felt before. And that was all the push he needed.

"Fuck!" He screamed out his vision blurring slightly, as he toppled over the edge and shot his hot load into the welcoming depths of her throat, his arms giving out behind him, causing him to fall back into a lying position.

Emily hummed in approval of the taste, as his salty seed invaded her mouth. She swallowed around him and continued sucking gently, while lightly massaging the muscles in his thighs, as he came down from his orgasm.

Once Aaron's heavy panting began to calm, Emily allowed him to slip from her mouth and brought her hand that had been around him to her lips, lapping up the last bit of remaining evidence of his release.

The female carefully climbed onto the bed next to him, placing her face down on the bedsheets next to his and staring at him intently as his breathing began to normalise.

Aaron somehow found the power to wrap an arm around her and pull her to his side, as he turned his head to meet the gaze of the beautiful grinning woman next to him.

He had no idea how he was going to find the energy, but after what she had just done for him, he had to at least try to repay her actions.

He reached his hand down between them and tugged gently at the waistband of her pants, before offering her a warm smile. "Want me to return the favour?"

Emily chuckled softly, before leaning up and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. "No. Not now anyway." She answered, sleepily, fighting back a yawn. "Like you said, it's been a long few days. Let's get some sleep."

Hotch felt almost guilty at the wave of relief that swept over him because of her answer. It wasn't that he didn't want to, in fact, it was something he _really_ did want to do. But in that moment he knew that he didn't have the strength or energy to please her to the full extent of his ability. In all honesty he felt completely spent and was struggling to keep his eyes open as he lay with the woman he loved press tightly against his side.

"Come on." Emily spoke out, removing herself from his arms, before pulling at him to stand. "Let's get ready for bed."

Reluctantly, the Sleepy Unit Chief allowed himself to be dragged up into a standing position, before making his way to the bathroom.

The two agents swiftly, got themselves cleaned up and teeth brushed, before changing into some suitable bed wear

To Hotch's amusement, despite the fact that Emily had brought her go-bag in from the car with her, she chose to grab one of his large black t-shirts and a pair of his boxers to sleep in. It warmed his heart the level of comfort she had developed around him to do such a thing without even asking him. Man, he was in deep.

Much to Emily's delight, Hotch himself chose to remain shirtless once he had stripped down his upper garments, only throwing on a pair of boxers, before climbing into the very comfortable and welcoming looking bed. Emily following him, not long after.

As soon as they were in bed together, Hotch didn't hesitate to pull the female into his arms. He chuckled softly as she settled against his side, hooking her leg over him and almost lying on top of the right side of his body.

"How are you feeling?" She whispered into his good ear, as her fingers gently caressed the bruises on his torso he had received during the explosion. "Is your ear okay?"

"It's still ringing and hurts a little." He told her honestly. "But I'll be fine."

"God, I'm sorry." Emily instantly felt like an idiot, at his confession. Why hadn't she just let them get some rest the moment they got home, like he had wanted? "We shouldn't have…"

"Hey, don't you dare." He cut her off, before tilting his head and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "Don't you dare apologise for what we just did. It was amazing." He told her, revelling in the way her eyes sparkled at the compliment " _You_ , Emily Prentiss, are amazing."

A small snicker fell from the female profiler's lips as a light blush tickled her cheeks. "So you keep telling me."

"It's the truth." He assured her, gazing intently into her beautiful brown orbs. "You're incredible and I love you."

Emily's eyes widened at his announcement. That was twice he had said that to her now. She couldn't fight the way her heart leapt in her chest as those three little words fell from his lips. The first time he had said it, he had straight after disappeared into the bathroom, but this time here he was continuing to gaze lovingly into her eyes, as her emotions went wild inside her.

"It's okay." The male spoke out, after a short moment spent in silence. "I'm not expecting you to say it back"

A small sigh escaped the woman's mouth, before she brought a hand up to cup his jaw, leaning up and pressing her lips to his. The kiss started out soft and gentle, until she glided her tongue across his bottom lip, before plunging it inside his mouth, kissing him deeply and passionately. A small whimper left the male's lips as Emily pulled away from the heated kiss, smiling down at him warmly, before pressing one more kiss to his lips and resting her head back down on his chest. "Let's get some sleep."

The corners of Aaron's lips tugged up as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, inhaling in the scent of her hair, as he held her in his embrace. "I like doing this." He let out sleepily.

"Like doing what?" Emily inquired, keeping her head rested on his chest, but tilting it slightly to meet his stare. "Getting a blowjob?"

"No." At his answer, Emily raised a questioning eyebrow. "Well, yes. Of course I like that. But that's not what I meant." He told her with a small snicker. "I meant, I like lying here with you in my arms. I like holding you."

"Yeah, this is nice." She hummed out in agreement with his statement. "Now go to sleep"

"We should do it more often." He offered, with a smile.

"We should." She agreed, shocking the male slightly with how easily the words fell from her lips.

"Really?"

"Well, to use your words, I am _your lady_ after all."

Aaron's heart fluttered at her comment, but he had to ask for assurance that he wasn't reading into things wrong. "My lady… as in…" He wasn't even completely sure how to ask what he wanted. "Mine?"

"Yours." She confirmed with a wink, before leaning up at pressing a firm, lingering kiss to his lips. "Now go to sleep."


	33. Chapter 33

Thankfully, after the few weeks of exhausting back to back cases ending with the awful case in New York on the Tuesday, Strauss had managed to get the team the rest of the week off. Not just on stand down, but actual real paid vacation time. Turns of the Ice Queen did have her moments of usefulness.

Aaron and Emily had to return the car they had borrowed to the Bureau the morning after they returned from New York. They drove over together and picked up their own vehicles, before heading to their retrospective homes.

The female profiler showered and re stocked her Go-bag, before heading back over to the male's apartment, under the pretence of wanting to make sure he was still doing okay.

Emily Prentiss had chosen to spend every day and night of that week off at Aaron Hotchner's apartment. He had not asked her to stay, nor had she asked him if she could. She simply did it and Hotch certainly wasn't complaining about it.

The Unit Chief had called his ex-wife and asked if he could have Jack stay with him for a couple of extra nights, as it had been a few weekends past since he had seen his son, due to their recent heavy workload. Haley however had refused, spouting off something about a stable routine, agreeing only that he could pick the boy up a little earlier than usual on Friday, if he wanted to.

Although he would never say it to Emily out loud, for fear of being beaten up, having her stay was a very similar experience to having his son stay over, with the obvious exception of their extracurricular bedroom activities.

She demanded food at the most inopportune moments, had him watching movies when he tried to start on some paperwork and most of all she simply had the ability to make him smile, no matter what, just like Jack did.

He was of course saddened by the fact that Haley wouldn't allow him to have his son in the week, but he had to admit, the blow was nicely cushioned by the female profiler's presence.

Dave had called him in the week to check on how he was recovering from the recent explosion he had been injured in. In all honesty, while Hotch had received a few nasty bruises, considering what could have happened, he wasn't doing too badly at all, with the exception of the damage to his ear that, with the painkillers he was on, wasn't causing him a ridiculous amount of bother.

After hearing that his friend was doing okay, Dave had announced that he was planning on throwing another team meal at his house on the Saturday before they were due back at work. After mouthing the request to Emily, who nodded excitedly at the idea, he accepted the invitation.

Aaron then sat by and watched as the female agent's cell phone rang and she had a similar conversation with their colleague.

Friday afternoon came around quickly and Hotch headed over to Haley's to pick up his son. Once they returned back home, Jack, who was already overjoyed to be seeing his father after such a long time, became even more excited when he found Emmy waiting for them back in his Daddy's apartment.

Aaron Hotchner couldn't remember a time he had felt so content and happy, as he watched his son and his… girlfriend… play together that evening. He stared on as Jack showed Emily his Paw Patrol racers again and again, smiling happily as he witnessed the beautiful brunette listening with as much enthusiasm the ninth time he had told her all their names, as she did the first time he had told her.

The male agent allowed himself to imagine many more Friday evenings like this one. Whether other people would say it was too soon to know for sure, or not, he didn't care. Aaron Hotchner knew that he wanted a future with Emily Prentiss and he was going to do everything in his power to make it happen.

* * *

On Saturday evening, after a small debate, Aaron and Emily, along with Jack of course, had decided to drive to Dave's dinner together in the same vehicle. On the way to their older friend's house they had made an agreement that they wouldn't announce their relationship to their co-workers, but if questioned they wouldn't lie.

Dave greeted them at the door, a knowing smile tickling his features, at the realisation that they had arrived together.

After they had all finished the delicious food, Aaron went through his usual routine of changing a sauce covered Jack, before returning to the table full of his co-workers, as well as William LaMontagne and Kevin Lynch, who had also joined the get together that evening.

Upon his return, Jack wasted no time grabbing at Emily in an effort to get her to accompany him to the fish tank on the other side of the large room. She happily complied with the little boy's desire and the other two female members of the team followed along after them, much to the child's delight.

Aaron beamed across the room at the happy look on his son's face at the attention he was receiving from the three ladies.

Once only the men were left around the dinner table, the conversation fell on the topic of Will and JJ's relationship. Will was questioned, mainly by Dave and Derek, about his plans, his career and the baby that, it had been announced in New York, JJ was carrying.

Hotch hadn't really been listening properly, more focused on the scene playing out across the room, until he heard his name mentioned.

"So Aaron, how's _your_ love life treating you?" Dave questioned, with a smirk, dragging the Unit Chief's attention away from the beautiful brunette playing with his son.

"Excuse me?" His eyebrow's furrowed as he spun around to face the agent.

"I didn't feel like that was a confusing question." The older male said with a smirk. "However, to put it even more simply for you, have you made a move on the lovely Emily Prentiss yet?"

Hotch's eyes widened at the fact that Dave was questioning him so openly in front of the rest of the team, along with Will and Kevin. It was almost instinct for him to immediately deny having any feelings for the woman in question, whatsoever. But he refrained from completely confirming nor denying the accusation, simply answering with three words. "She's my subordinate."

"That doesn't answer the question."

The team leader let out a long sigh as he gazed around at the five men all waiting eagerly to hear what he had to say. Even Spencer Reid, who hadn't held eye contact with him for longer than two seconds since Miami, was staring expectantly in his direction.

"I have feelings for her. I'm not stupid enough to think that you all wouldn't have picked up on that. So I won't try to deny it.

"And she returns your feelings?" Morgan questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know if she feels for me quite as strongly as I feel for her, but yes, she has feelings for me." He confirmed.

"So does that mean that the two of you are officially together?" Dave asked with an accusing smile.

The Unit Chief huffed out a long sigh, before glancing around at his team members "Would any of you have a problem with that, if it were the case?"

"No, not at all." The oldest profiler answered first, beaming at his colleague. "I'd be incredibly happy for you both."

Hotch smiled warmly at his friend before shifting his stare to the dark skinned agent beside him.

"Look man." Derek began. "She seems happier than ever recently and if you're the reason for that, then as long as it doesn't affect the way our team operates, I'm cool with it."

Hotch nodded a thank you to the male subordinate, before turning his attention to the young doctor. "Reid, what do you think?"

"I don't have an issue with the relationship at all. It actually makes perfect sense when you think about it. On paper, you're very well suited for each other in terms of…"

"Hey kid." Morgan interrupted what he was sure was going to be a very long speech with regards to their co-workers' compatibility. "A simple yes or no would have been enough."

"Sorry." The young genius replied, before a blush coloured his cheeks and he added. "I'd appreciate it, if I could not be in the room next to yours in future though."

Aaron Hotchner's eyes widened to the size of saucers as the youngest team members statement. He couldn't believe that Spencer Reid, of all people, had just dropped him in it like that.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek Morgan questioned, his brows furrowing in confusion, before a wave of realisation flooded over him. "You two… did it while we were working a case?!"

Aaron huffed out a long sigh of frustration, initially wanting to deny the accusation, but knowing better than to try and lie to a team of the world's best profilers.

"When? Why?" Dave asked in a shocked tone, after taking Hotch's lack of response as confirmation.

Another sigh escaped the Unit Chief, before he decided to answer honestly. "It was actually the case we worked in Miami." Hotch said, gesturing to Will, as he remembered the reason she had ended up in his room that night in the first place. "Emily had been… flirting with Detective LaMontagne in order to get JJ to admit to their relationship. I had mistaken her intentions for more than they were and, I'll admit, I got a little jealous. She confronted me in my room the night before we flew home and… it just kind of happened."

"Jesus, Aaron." Dave secretly wanted to congratulate his friend and give him a pat on the back, but he knew that if Hotch wanted any chance at having a long term relationship with his subordinate, then he had to keep it out of work. "That can't happen again."

"I know, trust me, I know." Aaron assured the older agent. "It was a spare of the moment thing and I won't let it happen again."

"What about in New York?" Reid questioned, casting a quick glance in the direction of his boss, before finding an interesting spot on the table to stare at while he waited for his answer.

"You heard us in New York?" Aaron inquired incredulously. He had forgotten that Reid had been rooming next to Emily that night.

"You guys did it in New York too?" Morgan's eyebrows nearly leapt off his forehead at the piece of information.

Dave shook his head at the Unit Chief. "I thought you said Miami was just a spare of the moment thing?"

"It was… so was New York."

"Aaron!" Dave scolded, both disappointed and impressed at his friend's lack of self-control.

"What?" The team leader defended. "Emily thought I was interested in Kate." His smile dropped briefly at the memory of the fallen agent. "I… had to show her that I wasn't."

"And just telling her wasn't good enough?" The older male asked.

"It may have been." Hotch admitted, before a light smirk tickled his features. "Wouldn't have been as fun though."

Dave and Derek's jaws dropped at their leader's 'out of character' behaviour, Will chuckled quietly and Spencer and Kevin found their gazes shifting around somewhat uncomfortably.

"Look Aaron." Dave spoke with a serious tone. "There's a big part of me that wants to congratulate you for finally pulling that stick out of your ass and showing us that you're just as human as the rest of us. But, you can't keep doing… that, if this is going to work out in the long run."

"I know. Seriously, I know. We have both agreed that we won't let it happen again." The Unit Chief assured his friend. "On another note, we really need to keep this away from Strauss for as long as possible." Hotch announced, his stare straight away seeking out Kevin Lynch.

The male technical analyst held his hands up immediately, as if Hotch had him held at gunpoint. "I won't breathe a word to anyone. I swear."

Aaron offered the frightened looking man a small smile and a nod, before searching the gazes of the other men.

Morgan spoke next. "I won't tell a soul, you know that." He informed his boss. "But I have to ask, wouldn't it be better to just come clean upfront rather than try and sneak around behind her back?"

"No, Aaron's right." Dave answered, before Hotch had a chance to respond. "Erin will look for any excuse to get rid of him. She's been trying for years now. If he approaches her and announces he's starting a relationship with his subordinate, she'll follow him around like the plague and find something to trip him up over while their relationship takes some getting used to in the field."

"But if we can get over that initial hurdle..." Aaron continued. "Obviously Emily would still be taking orders from me in the field and I would still sign off on all of her case files, but her performance and psych evaluations and all those kind of things, would have to be handled by another senior agent. Lucky for us, we have one of those." He smiled at Dave, who nodded in return. "In however many weeks or months or years down the line, when we tell Strauss or she finds out of her own accord, if we can go to her with proof that we have been working professionally and closing just as many cases, receiving no complaints from our co-workers or local law enforcement, we'll have a much better leg to stand on."

"The fraternisation rules exist." Rossi carried on. "But they're not the law, they can be bent. If I deal with all of Emily's evaluations from now on and we can show in the future that the relationship has been in place for a long time and that it isn't having a negative impact on the performance of any member of the team, then, despite wanting to, even Erin would struggle to justify splitting up a unit that closes as many cases as we do."

Before anyone could say anything else on the matter, Jack came running back to the table, with the three women close on his trail.

As everybody returned to their seats the conversation changed to talk of how good the food was, before moving on to how JJ felt about being pregnant and then finally how nice it had been to have the time off to recover after their recent heavy workload.

"You know next time we get some time off, I'm thinking I'd actually like to get away on vacation." Derek Morgan announced, with a playful smirk stretching across his features. "I'm thinking maybe Miami or New York would be nice, but not sure which to go for. What do you think, Prentiss? You been to Miami or New York recently and done anything fun?" He asked, with a toothy grin, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the woman.

Emily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a short moment, before a sickening wave of realisation flooded her. Her face flushed a deep shade of red and her stare instantly shifted from the smirking face of Derek Morgan, to the frightened looking Aaron Hotchner. "You told them?" She questioned, with wide eyes.

His silence along with the mixed look of guilt and fright in his gaze told her all she needed to know.

"Aaron!" Emily scolded, her jaw dropping open in shock over what he had revealed to their friends.

"What?" He held his hands up in surrender. "I thought we agreed not to lie, if they asked?"

"Yeah, I meant you could tell them we were in a relationship, not give them a detailed run down of our…" She trailed off as he gaze fell on the curious stare of Jack Hotchner. "S-E-X life."

Before Aaron had a chance to responded, and excited squeal left the lips of Penelope Garcia. "Oh my God, Oh my God! Information overload. You two are in a relationship? You two are having sex?"

"Garcia!" The team leader yelled out, gesturing to the small boy sat at the table.

"Sorry." She apologised for her outburst, but continued to bob up and down in her seat as if she may explode from excitement at any second.

"Aaron, I need to talk to you." Emily demanded firmly, standing up from the table and pacing away.

Hotch huffed out in frustration, before following the annoyed female. "Em, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's not that you've upset me, I just don't get it." She told him, with creased brows. "Why would you tell them such personal things about our relationship? Do you think it's 'cool' to brag about all the places you've banged me?"

"No, of course not. You know I think more of you than that." He assured her. "I didn't brag about anything. Reid heard us in Miami _and_ New York and, for some reason, he decided to drop us in the shit tonight. I didn't see the point of trying to denying it. Have you ever tried to lie to David Rossi?"

A small smirk presented itself on Emily's face. "Reid heard us both nights?"

"Apparently so." He confirmed with a light chuckle, happy that the piece of knowledge seemed to have demolished any anger Emily may have felt towards him.

"Is it really wrong that that amuses me more than it embarrasses me?"

"Yes." Hotch answered with a snicker. The two agents stood laughing for a short while, before Aaron opened up his arms cautiously, silently asking if he could hug her.

The female rolled her eyes at his wariness, before stepping into his embrace.

"You're not mad at me are you?" He questioned, as he wrapped his arms tightly around her figure.

"No." She smiled up at him. "Sorry if I overacted, that just caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting anyone to ever find out about what we did, while on duty." _Man, Morgan is going to be teasing me about this for months._

"I know, I'm sorry. I didn't intend for it to get out." Hotch told her with a small sigh, before his lips twitched up in amusement. "You know, if you hadn't have been so loud, we wouldn't be in this situation right now. So, it's kind of your fault that everybody knows."

A grin spread its way across Emily's face, as she shook her head at his banter. "Well, if you weren't so amazing in bed, I wouldn't have been so loud. So, actually, it's your fault."

The Hotchner dimples made an appearance, as Aaron loosened his hold on the woman in his arms, before he dipped his head and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips.

Hotch laced his fingers with Emily's as the couple made their way back to the table of their grinning co-workers, who had witnessed their moment of affection. He couldn't fight off the expression of happiness that had invaded his features at that minute. He looked from the beautiful girl at his side, to the gleeful face of his son, and around the table of his friends, all so pleased and accepting of his relationship. Things were certainly looking up for Aaron Hotchner.

* * *

 **Ahh! This was another one of those chapters where I knew exactly what I wanted to happen, but it just didn't seem to want to be written. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed at the end, I was starting to get really frustrated with it. Cheers again for all reading and reviewing.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Sorry this one is a bit short, I actually cut the chapter in half because I was struggling with the second half of it and getting multiple messages asking for an update. So good news is that the next chapter is already over half written so the next update will be pretty quick. Coming to the end of this story soon though I'm afraid, two or three more chapters to go. I have however started a new H/P story that I have just uploaded the first chapter to called 'The Rebound' if anyone is interested. And as requested by a couple of you, I'm working on a second part to 'Lie To Me'. Cheers again for all the support with this story.**

Emily Prentiss waited in the car on late Sunday afternoon, through her own choice, as Aaron dropped off Jack with Haley.

The ex husband and wife had ended up getting into a small argument on the doorstep over who's weekend it was to have the little boy the following week. Technically it had been arranged that it would be Haley's turn to keep him, however as Hotch had been away due to work the two weekends prior to the current one, he felt that Jack should come to him.

His ex-wife was not at all impressed at his suggestion and after a long speech about Aaron's job not being anything to do with her anymore and pointing out the fact that it wasn't her fault that she had had to look after their son when he was unable to do so, she finished on the note that, as Jack's third birthday landed on the following Wednesday, she had already arranged a party this coming Saturday in advance and she wasn't going to cancel it.

Hotch resisted the strong urge to point out that if she had just told him that she had already planned a party to start with, instead of rambling on about his job, then he would have understood and the conversation could have been over a lot sooner.

Despite Emily's protests that he didn't have to if he wasn't in the mood, Aaron insisted on taking her out to dinner like they had originally planned to.

Considering that Haley had already pissed him off, Hotch thought he did quite well not punching their waiter in the face when he had spent the entire time staring at his girlfriend when Hotch gave over his order.

And he definitely did not need to be a profiler to notice the way the waiter was unashamedly undressing Emily with his eyes, as she gave him her order. He watched in disgust as the middle aged man moistened his lips and winked at her, before bouncing away from the table.

Hotch's stare followed his path as he left, before returning his attention to the beautiful woman sat opposite him, finding an amused expression on her face.

She raised a questioning eyebrow at her date. "Aaron, you realise he isn't an Unsub, don't you?"

"Did you not see the way he was looking at you?" He asked firmly.

"Yeah, so what?" Emily chuckled, before gesturing to a young blonde lady sat near the bar. "See her?"

Aaron glanced around at woman, finding that her gaze was already fixated on him. She smiled at him and he awkwardly nodded, before turning back to face his girlfriend. "What about her?"

"She's barely taken her eyes off you since the second we stepped through the door." The raven haired woman explained.

Hotch's eyes widened at the revelation. "She looks about seventeen."

"She does not." Emily laughed loudly. "She looks around twenty one."

"That's really not much better." He protested.

"Look, I feel we're moving off the point here." She shook her head, grinning at the male across from her. "My point is that we both, one of us more than the other, need to stop with all the jealously. I trust you, Aaron. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do." He assured her, reaching across the table to hold her hand in his own. "I'm not that bad am I?"

"Well, let's think about that, shall we? There's been Detective Hill, Officer Sharp, Officer Johnstone, Teddy in security, Will LaMontagne, Morgan, this waiter, the barrister from The Fever Bean, the guy who…"

"Alright, alright, I get it." He cut her off, smiling warmly at the pure look of joy on her face as she listed off all the times he had been jealous over her.

"My point is, that _she_ can stare at you however much she wants to all night, but I'm the one that gets to go home with you." She told him. "That's enough for me. I have no reason to be jealous and neither do you."

The famous Hotchner dimples made an appearance on the Unit Chief's face, as he squeezed her hand lightly. He knew she was right. She had chosen to be with him and he trusted her, so it shouldn't matter if every man in the world wanted to mentally undress Emily with their eyes. It's not like he could blame them.

"No more jealousy?" She questioned, after watching him think things over for a short while.

"No more jealousy." He confirmed.

Before either of them could say anymore, Hotch's cell phone rang in his pocket.

Emily huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Please, tell me they're not sending us away on a case, as soon as we're back in tomorrow. We have so much paperwork to catch up on its unreal."

Aaron pulled the small black device out and his eyebrows furrowed at the name on the screen. "It's Haley. Sorry, do you mind if I answer it? It could be about Jack and…"

"You don't have to explain, Aaron." She offered him a reassuring smile. "Go ahead and answer it."

He winked at her, before lifting the cell to his good ear. "Haley what's up?"

"Jack keeps asking if Daddy and… _Emmy_ are coming to his party on Saturday." Her voice came across over the line very monotone, with the exception of the noticeable falter over the way she said 'Emmy'. "So, are you?"

"Are 'Daddy and Emmy' invited to Jack's party on Saturday?" Emily's eyes widened at the sound of her nickname, being used in a phone call between Aaron and his ex-wife.

"Would I be on the phone having this conversation with you, if you weren't?" Haley spat.

The male profiler huffed out a sigh. "Haley, I would like to attend, very much so. But not if our presence is going to make things awkward. Are you really okay with it, because you don't sound it?"

"Does it matter? Jack wants you both there. My feelings are irrelevant. This isn't about me, it isn't about you and it isn't about _her_. This is about our son and what he wants and he really wants you both to come. So, I have to be okay with that."

"Okay, then I'll be there. I'll speak to Emily about it later."

"Are you going to admit that the two of you are together yet?"

He sighed. "We are a couple, yes."

"See Aaron, was the truth really that difficult? So much easier than lying, isn't it?"

"Don't start, Haley." He scoffed, trying to keep his voice down although he was about to lose his temper. "I did not lie to you. The last time you asked if Emily and I were dating, we were not. We are now."

"Whatever. I'll see you on Saturday, one o'clock at the house."

"Okay…" Before Hotch could finish his goodbye, the line went dead as Haley ended the call.

Emily offered the man opposite her a wary smile, as he returned his cell to his pocket. "I think I caught most of that. We're invited to Jack's party?"

He nodded.

"And we're going?"

"Yes. Well, I am. If you would feel uncomfortable attending, I would completely understand."

"Do you think I should go?"

"I want you to. And Jack really wants you to."

"That isn't what I asked?" Emily's eyes dropped to the table as a small sigh escaped her. "Haley doesn't want me there, does she?"

"She doesn't want either of us there." He answered honestly, reaching out for her hand again, matching the position they had been in, before his ex-wife had called. "But she knows that Jack does. I genuinely believe that she'll play nice on Saturday if we do attend. She wants to do what's best for Jack, she wouldn't have invited us otherwise. But, if it will be awkward for you, I would in no way hold it against you, if you decide not to go."

Of course it was going to be awkward for her. But if she was going to be in a long term relationship with the man before her, then she was at some point going to have to come to terms with the fact that she would have to deal with situations like this one at times. Plus, the idea that there was a small possibility that her absence could disappoint Jack on his birthday, didn't really leave the female profiler with much doubt in her mind. "I'll go."

"You're sure?"

"Yes." Emily beamed at the way his eyes lit up across the table.

Hotch brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it, before releasing his hold on her as the waiter arrived with their meals. He made sure to keep a polite smile on his face, as he thanked the man for their food, in an effort to show Emily that he was sincere about working on his jealous tendencies.

Whatever fucked up choices he had made in the past, he had somehow managed to earn Emily Prentiss' affection and he definitely didn't want to risk doing anything to lose her now.

Haley Brookes on the other hand, had other ideas.


End file.
